Project Detail

Exam

Synopsis

Eight talented candidates have reached the final stage of selection to join the ranks of a mysterious and powerful corporation. Entering a windowless room, an Invigilator gives them eighty minutes to answer one simple question. He outlines three rules they must obey or be disqualified: don't talk to him or the armed guard by the door, don't spoil their papers and don't leave the room. He starts the clock and leaves. The candidates turn over their question papers, only to find they're completely blank. After the initial confusion has subsided, one frustrated candidate writes 'I believe you should hire me because...,' and is promptly ejected for spoiling. The remaining candidates soon figure out they're permitted to talk to each other, and they agree to cooperate in order to figure out the question: then they can compete to answer it.

At first they suspect the question may be hidden in their papers like a security marker in a credit card, and they figure out ways to change their environment to expose the hidden words. But light, liquids and other plans all come to naught. Soon enough, the candidates begin to uncover each other's background, prejudices and hidden agendas. Tensions rise as the clock steadily descends towards zero, and each candidate must decide how far they are willing to go to secure the ultimate job.

Details

Year
2009
Type of project
Features
Running time
85 mins
Format
35mm
Director
Stuart Hazeldine 1st Feature
Producer
Stuart Hazeldine, Gareth Unwin
Editor
Mark Talbot Butler
Screenwriter
Stuart Hazeldine
Director of Photography
Time Wooster
Production Designer
Patrick Bill
Principal cast
Luke Mably, Chuk Iwuji, Natalie Cox, Jimmy Mistry, Colin Salmon, Adar Beck, John Lloyd Fillingham, Gemma Chan, Chris Carey

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Bedlam Productions Ltd

Unit 7
46 Albermarle Road
London BR3 5HN
UK

Sales Company

Independent

32 Tavistock Street
London WC2E 7PB
UK

T +44 (0)20 7257 8734

mail@independentfilmcompany.com

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

 About an Intimate Matter About an Intimate Matter

Director: Sandeep Kumar Paul

Year: 2026

Science teacher Swarna and her partner Driti move to a suburban town for a fresh start. When a student leaks intimate photos of Swarna online, school authorities turn her private life into a disciplinary issue. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere

Denzel Baidoo as Marcus, forlorn at the dinner table. Clocks

Director: Yv Shells

Year: 2026

When Arlo arrives to find Marcus has cooked someone else’s favourite meal, a single question begins to unravel an evening that refuses to stay in the present. Through a fractured timeline set entirely within one dining room, we move between Marcus and Arlo and the relationship that came before, with Una, the woman he met at a late-night bus stop and once talked about marrying. The same table, the same chairs, the same arguments about trust, honesty and what it means to truly see someone. As the timelines bleed together, it becomes clear that Marcus has never fully left the past, and that Una’s ghost sits at every table he sets. When Arlo asks what her own favourite meal is and he cannot answer, the film’s quiet devastation lands completely. CLOCKS is a portrait of a man who loves generously but sees poorly, and the women who carry the cost. It asks what we owe the person in front of us while we are still in love with someone we lost, and whether a feeling ever truly ends.

Skintown Skintown

Director: Kieron J. Walsh

Year: 2026

1994. As Northern Ireland takes its first steps towards peace, best friends Vinny and Jonty are about to jump start their futures with the most reckless trip of their lives. Official Selection Busan International Film Festival 2026