Wadjda

Wadjda is the first full-length feature film to be directed by a woman in Saudi Arabia. It is about a 10-year old girl who wants a bicycle so she can race against a boy called Abdullah – except, of course, in Saudi Arabia girls aren’t allowed to ride bicycles any more than they are allowed to drive cars. So Wadjda’s mother won’t let her daughter have a bicycle and the girl decides to raise the money to buy one herself. The director, Haifaa al Mansour, admits that she gets death threats for her work and says that she had to spend much of the location shoot directing from inside a van. The film however, was supported by Prince Waleed Bin Talal and his company Rotana, which allowed her to film within the traditionally conservative Kingdom. The movie was premiered last year at Venice Film Festival and has won numerous awards. It is now on release in France.