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Wadjda

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Wadjda
Arabic(وجدة)
Directed byHaifaa Al-Mansour
Screenplay byHaifaa Al-Mansour
Produced byGerhard Meixner
Roman Paul
StarringWaad Mohammed
Reem Abdullah
Abdulrahman Al Guhani
Cinematographyde [Lutz Reitemeier]
Edited byAndreas Wodraschke
Music byMax Richter
Production
companies
Razor Film Produktion GmbH
in cooperation with Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Bayerischer Rundfunk
Rotana TV
Highlook Communications Group
Distributed byKoch Media (Germany, all media)
Release date
31 August 2012 (Venice Film Festival)
Running time
98 minutes
CountriesGermany
Saudi Arabia
LanguageArabic

Wadjda is a 2012 German/Saudi Arabian film, written and directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour. It was shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and is the first feature-length movie made by a female Saudi director.[1][2] It has already won numerous awards at film festivals around the world.

Plot

Wadjda, an 11-year-old Saudi girl living in the capital Riyadh, dreams of owning a green bicycle that she passes in a store every day on her way to school. She wants to race against her friend Abdullah, a boy from the neighbourhood. Riding bikes is against the law for girls and Wadjda's mother refuses to buy one for her daughter. She is distracted by trying to convince her husband not to take a second wife as Wadjda tries to find the money herself by selling mixed tapes and through other forbidden activities in the school yard. However, Wadjda runs afoul of the strict headmistress and thus decides to participate in a Koran recital competition. Winning the cash prize of SR1,000 would allow her to pay for the bike. Her efforts at memorising the verses soon make others see Wadjda as a model pious girl.[2][3][4][5]

Cast

  • Reem Abdullah as Mother
  • Waad Mohammed as Wadjda
  • Abdullrahman Algohani as Abdullah
  • Ahd Kamel as Ms Hussa
  • Sultan Al Assaf as Father[5]

Production

According to the director, it took her five years to make Wadjda. Most of the time was spent trying to find financial backing and getting filming permission, since al-Mansour insisted on filming in Saudi Arabia for reasons of authenticity. She received backing from Rotana, the film production company of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. However, she was very interested in finding a foreign co-producer because "in Saudi there are no movie theatres, there is no film industry to speak of and, therefore, little money for investment".[3] After being chosen for a Sundance Institute writer's lab in Jordan, al-Mansour got in touch with the German production company Razor Film, which had previously produced films with Middle-Eastern topics (Paradise Now and Waltz with Bashir).[3] The production involved co-operation with two German public TV broadcasters, Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Bayerischer Rundfunk.[5] Additional funding came from de [Filmförderungsanstalt] (FFA, Berlin); Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH (MBB, Potsdam); Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung GmbH (MDM, Leipzig) and Filmfonds Babelsberg (ILB, Potsdam-Babelsberg).[5]

Al-Mansour's screenplay was influenced by neorealist cinema like Vittorio de Sica's Bicycle Thieves, Jafar Panahi's Offside or Rosetta. Al-Mansour says that the original version of her screenplay was much bleaker than the finished product: "I decided I didn't want the film to carry a slogan and scream, but just to create a story where people can laugh and cry a little.[3] Al-Mansour based the character of Wadjda on one of her nieces and also on her own experiences when growing up.[3] The main themes of the story are freedom, as represented by the bicycle, and the fear of emotional abandonment, as Wadjda's father wants to take a second wife who will provide him with a son.[3]

Wadjda was shot on the streets of Riyadh, which often made it necessary for the director to work from the back of a van, as she could not publicly mix with the men in the crew. Often, she could only communicate via walkie-talkie and had to watch the actors on a monitor. This made it difficult to direct: "It made me realise the need to rehearse and to develop an understanding for each scene before we shot it."[3] Waad Mohammed, who plays Wadjda, was a first time actor.[3]

Release

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2012. It will be released in Germany by Koch Media in 2013. Other distributors are: Pretty Pictures (France, theatrical), Sony Pictures Classics (USA, theatrical), Wild Bunch Benelux (Netherlands, theatrical), The Match Factory (Non-USA, all media) and Soda Pictures (UK, all media). It has already been shown at several film festivals:

Country Release Date Film Festival Note
Italy 31 August 2012[6] Venice Film Festival
USA 15 September 2012[6] Telluride Film Festival
Poland 28 November 2012[6] Filmy Swiata ale kino+ Festival
Iceland 29 November 2012[6] Fully
Italy 6 December 2012[6] Fully
Netherlands 26 January 2013[6] International Film Festival Rotterdam
Sweden 30 January 2013[6] Goteborg International Film Festival
Belgium 6 February 2013[6] Fully
France 6 February 2013[6] Fully
Serbia 23 February 2013[6] Belgrade Film Festival
Sweden 8 March 2013[6] Fully
Netherlands 16 May 2013[6] Fully
UK 19 July 2013[3] Fully
Germany 15 August 2013[6] Fully

Other screenings include as the opening film of the 6th Gulf Film Festival in Dubai (11–17 April) and at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York (21/25 April).[3]

Awards

Year Awards Film Festival Recipient(s) Result
2012 Muhr Arab Award[1] Dubai International Film Festival Waad Mohammed (Best Actress – Feature)
Roman Paul (Best Film – Feature)
Gerhard Meixner (Best Film - Feature) 		Won
2012 Don Quixote Award
Netpac Award
Grand Prize 		Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival Haifaa Al-Mansour (Special Mention)
Haifaa Al-Mansour
Haifaa Al-Mansour 		Won
Won
Nominated
2012 CinemAvvenire Award
C.I.C.A.E. Award
Interfilm Award 		Venice Film Festival Haifaa Al-Mansour (Best Film—Il cerchio non è rotondo Award)
Haifaa Al-Mansour
Haifaa Al-Mansour 		Won
Won
Won
2012 Sutherland Trophy British Film Institute Awards Haifaa Al-Mansour Nominated
2013 Directors to Watch Palm Springs International Film Festival Haifaa Al-Mansour Won
2013 Grand Prix Fribourg International Film Festival Haifaa Al-Mansour Nominated
2013 Dioraphte Award Rotterdam International Film Festival Haifaa Al-Mansour Won

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dubai International Film Festival
  2. ^ a b Euronews: Wadjda
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Grey, Tobias (30/31 March 2013), "The undercover director", Financial Times, p. 14 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Wadjda". Razor Film. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d "Filmportal: Wadjda". Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m IMDB:Wadjda (2012)
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