AL MANSOUR MAKES HISTORY IN VENICE Female director Haifaa Al Mansour made history at the Venice Film Festival Friday morning (31 August 2012), premiering the first full-length feature to be filmed entirely within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Wadjda" is based around a young girl named Wadjda (newcomer Waad Mohammed) who dreams of owning a beautiful green bicycle. The headstrong 10-year-old wants the bike so she can beat a local boy named Abdullah in a race. However her controlling mother (played by Reem Adbullah) is too preoccupied with saving her marriage to help her daughter realise her dream. So, to raise the money needed, the Westernised youngster decides to enter a competition where the winner will be the girl who is able to recite sections of the Koran. Although her teachers at school soon see Wadjda as a model, pious student, she is still determined to break convention to get her prize. Speaking after the premiere, Al Mansour shrugged off suggestions she may have felt nervous before the screening. "No I feel so proud honestly to have shot the first film ever to be shot inside Saudi Arabia. It was an extremely difficult experience, but still it's very rewarding and it says something about the country. That the country of Saudi Arabia is opening up and there is a place for arts to grow and there is a place for women." She received valuable support from a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Waleed Bin Talal and his company Rotana, which allowed her to shoot within the traditionally conservative Kingdom. "They were behind the film. So I think there is a huge platform for women now in Saudi Arabia to come and do things if they really believed in themselves. They will find support within the Kingdom and outside. There are a lot of people who want to hear from Saudi women and it is about time now that they capitalise on this window." The director shot the film on location in Riyadh, often darting into her production van to avoid potential conflict with conservative males, unhappy a woman was mixing professionally with men on-set. Indeed, she admits her choice of career has seen her receive death threats in the past. "I am a polarising figure in Saudi Arabia. A lot of people like me and a lot of people are against me, but I think that creates a really healthy debate within the Kingdom." Al Mansour says. "I never take that (death threats) personally. I know that they think that I threaten their values, but I always try to be respectful because I want to engage them in a dialogue rather than fight with them - the conservatives at least and say things that (would make them) not want to listen to me. I want to work within the system and contribute to the change that is happening inside the Kingdom." While Al Mansour has spent plenty of time outside the Kingdom, studying in Cairo and Sydney, the trip to Venice is the first time her her young star, Waad Mohammed, has left her home country Mohammed was cast after arriving at her audition wearing headphones and jeans, with tattoos on her hands. While the newcomer may be taking the whole fame thing in her stride, the same can't be said for her disbelieving school friends. "They wouldn't believe me at first after the news. But then they'd bring pictures, the newspapers and go 'is that really you?' and I'd be like 'yes.' My closest friends are not... they're very happy for me, but people not from my circle? They might be a little jealous!" "Wadjda" is showing in the Orizzonti category at the 69th Venice Film Festival, which runs until 8 September 2012. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/c77d6fdca733f1acebbc51e668c4f8b4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 31 Jul 2015
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