Haifaa Al-Mansour (1974-) is a Saudi Arabian film director. In 2012, she became the first female Saudi filmmaker with the award-winning Wadjda - the first feature-length film to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. Wadjda tells the story of a Saudi girl who wants to ride a bicycle but isn’t allowed. The film was also the first Saudi submission for the Academy Awards, received a BAFTA nomination, and won 3 awards at the Venice Film Festival.
At the time, Al-Mansour had to direct Wadjda while hiding in a van since women were not allowed to work with men or be seen walking around on the streets."Some of the neighbourhoods are conservative so I had to be in a van and direct the actors through the phone or walkie talkies," - said Al-Mansour (Source).
Following the success of Wadjda, Al-Mansour produced three other features, Mary Shelley, a biopic about the English writer of Frankenstein, a film adaptation of Trisha R. Thomas’ Nappily Ever After, and, most recently, The Perfect Candidate, a story of a Saudi doctor, Maryam, who runs for office in a local election.
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