Students clustered in the 22 Tappan cafeteria, enjoying a cup of noodles as they waited for the showing of the Studio Ghibli film “Ponyo” to start. The Japanese Exchange Program (JEP) held a Japanese movie night to fundraise for their upcoming trip to Japan on Friday, Jan. 26.

Attendee and senior Emilia Foley said the major draw was the movie. Foley said she has been watching Studio Ghibli films since she was young.

“I love all the Studio Ghibli movies, all the high-resolution movies. ‘Ponyo’ is one of my favorites,” Foley said. “Just being out here with friends tonight is gonna be super fun.”

Japanese language student and freshman Amarachi Ikonne said she came at her teacher’s encouragement and stayed because of the movie and noodles.

“It was really fun because it was a big thing with a bunch of friends,” Ikonne said. “And it’s always nice to watch [‘Ponyo’].”

According to Japanese teacher Fukiko Shapiro, the movie was originally going to be shown in English with Japanese subtitles, though they decided against that at the last minute.

Organizer of the event and senior Joshua Chan said the exchange program would call it a successful night, with students chatting about the movie over noodles and other snacks. Chen said the movie night had multiple goals.

“We wanted to do it early to help bring the program together,” Chan said,“and to help get more financial aid, of course.”

For Foley, this isn’t the first time she’s supported an exchange program. She said she also supported the French Exchange program at their bake sale earlier this year.

“I think the exchange programs are really cool,” Foley said. “It’s so cool that BHS offers these opportunities for students to go abroad and immerse themselves into new cultures, new languages and just being able to support that program is awesome.”