STUDY HARD

SYNOPSIS

A high school girl is studying for the upcoming examination that will decide the direction of her future career. She is trying hard to concentrate on the book instead of the message on her phone. When she begins to play with her phone, an ominous figure hiding in the shadows starts approaching her and eventually drags her to hell.

DIRECTOR STATEMENT

"Study Hard" is a horror short that expresses the anxiety of living under the education system following the Confucian mantra: "Only the learned rank high, all other trades rank low." Aside from capturing the sense of helplessness in a student's mind, it further states that students must acquire knowledge to survive in society regardless of what they plan to do.

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I originally made "Nightmares," the former version of "Study Hard," to express my anxiety about living under credentialism. As time passed, I realized that lacking knowledge is far more horrible, so I adapted it into "Study Hard," warning teenagers what may happen if they refuse to concentrate on learning.

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--- Hungyu Henry Kuo