Award-winning Saudi film to be screened in Doha

Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) year round series, Hekayat Khaleejiya, returns for the second time with the screening of the Saudi award-winning film, Wadjda (Director: Haifaa al-Mansour, 2012). The three-time Venice Film Festival award winner will be screened on April 4 and 5 at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) auditorium.

The two screenings will be followed by an extended question-and-answer session with the director Haifaa al-Mansour.

‘Wadjda’, the first film ever shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, and the first Saudi feature film directed by a woman is the story of a fun-loving, entrepreneurial 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh. When Wadjda sees a beautiful green bicycle for sale, she wants it desperately but her mother won’t allow her to have it, fearing repercussions from a conservative society, so Wadjda decides to raise the money herself. Just as she is losing hope,Wadjda hears of a cash prize for a Qur’an recitation competition at her school.

The film has won five international awards, including the Muhr award for Best Film at the Dubai International Film Festival. The visitors to the screening venue will also have a chance to meet one of the most talented Khaleeji newcomers, Haifaa al-Mansour.

Tickets are now on sale at www.dohafilminstitute.com or in person at the DFI Ticket Outlet at the Museum of Islamic Art.