TOKYO film director, Masaaki Nishimura, worked together with Benesse Education Information Forum to create this piece that aims to encourage students who are anxious about entrance exams during this difficult situation.

“I think it was difficult for students to switch straight to exam mode without playing any final sports’ game that they’d been practicing for, or going on any school graduation trips because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Masaaki. “The film’s opening words were taken from one of the students’ actual interviews. I wanted to illustrate their struggles and progress by portraying them studying, facing downwards towards the desk, so that they could then look upwards towards the future that lies ahead of them in spring next year.

 

Click here for another version of “High School Examination”.