Shilan is willing to do whatever it takes so her little sister passes the university entrance exams and to save her from being married off, including becoming entangled with a group that manages an exam cheating business. The Exam offers a realistic examination of the tensions in the lives of women in Iraqi Kurdistan: where the gap between tradition and progress, marriage versus education, is also the gap between men and women. As simple as the plot seems, the script and direction manage to charge it with palpable tension, and the excellent performance of Avan Jamal in the lead role evokes empathy and captures the heart.