Rotary Rule-of-Law Night | Final Exam Film Screening and Post-Screening Discussion

The film *Final Exam* examines how declining birth rates affect education in rural communities and provides an accessible entry point for rule-of-law education grounded in contemporary social realities.

Judicial and human-rights issues can seem rigid or difficult to the general public. Rotary International District 3482 and the Judicial Reform Foundation jointly organized this event to introduce audiences to social issues through film and make reflection on justice and human rights more approachable.

Online Registration

Time

January 6, 2022 (Thu.): ticket pickup and seat assignment at 18:30; admission at 19:00; post-screening discussion through 21:15.

Venue

SPOT Huashan, Theater 2 (Building Zhong 6, Huashan 1914 Creative Park, No. 1, Sec. 1, Bade Rd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City)

Speakers

Kuo Chen-Ti / Director, *Final Exam*
Attorney Lin Chun-Ju / Director, Legal Policy Department, Judicial Reform Foundation

Film Information

*Final Exam*, a moving feature by Taiwanese director Kuo Chen-Ti, focuses on the pressures facing education in rural Taiwan. The story follows a substitute teacher, played by Lan Wei-Hua, during the seven days before final exams as he waits to learn whether his contract will be renewed. His personal struggle unfolds against the broader impact of declining birth rates on rural schools. The film received recognition at the Locarno Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, where it was selected for competition and praised for addressing an issue with international relevance.

Ministry of the Interior statistics show Taiwan's number of births falling to historic lows, making declining enrollment one of the greatest challenges national education has faced in more than half a century. Fewer students also place teachers' livelihoods at risk. In the film, the teachers played by Lan Wei-Hua and Yang Hsiao-Li go door to door asking parents to enroll their children so that the school-and their jobs-can survive. The film portrays not only rural education under demographic pressure but also the painful tension between educational ideals, employment insecurity, and personal dignity. Even Mikk Granström, a programmer for the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, was reportedly deeply moved by the anxiety of waiting for a renewal notice.

Kuo Chen-Ti studied psychology at National Taiwan University and film and media arts at Temple University in the United States. Her work has long reflected a strong concern for Taiwan's people and society, and *Viva Tonal-The Dance Age* won the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary. In *Final Exam*, she again speaks for rural education, portrays the precarity of itinerant and contract teachers, and raises broader questions about social class and unequal opportunity.

Organizers

Rotary International District 3482
Judicial Reform Foundation