Haifaa Al Mansour is breaking boundaries for women in film again
Haifaa Al Mansour showcased her second feature film set in the Kingdom at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Al Mansour is Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker.
“The Wedding Singer’s Daughter” charts a performer singing for women at a wedding party in 1980s Riyadh, until an electrical fault cuts off her performance
ALSO READ:
Saudi Arabia’s ban on women driving has ended
The first Saudi women have been issued their driving licences
The feature is part of ‘Miu Miu Women’s Tales’, an initiative for female directors to showcase their work, entirely through the female gaze.
The writer-director’s first break-out feature film was “Wadjida” in 2012, which charts a Saudi girl who dreams of owning a bicycle. It made history as Saudi Arabia’s first foreign-language Oscar entry.
Oscar-nominated Al Mansour revealed her plans to head back to KSA to shoot another feature, “The Perfect Candidate”, where she’ll work in partnership with the new Saudi Film Council. “The Perfect Candidate” explores a young female physician who wants to fulfil her political ambitions in a male-dominated society.
At the end of the year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lifted a decades-old ban on cinemas as part of his plans to modernise the Kingdom, which lifted the decades-old ban on women driving this summer.
“It’s wonderful to be part of the revolution of film in the country,” Al Mansour acknowledged.
The festival ends on September 8th.
We can’t wait to watch!
Main image: Getty
