Fresh from shooting her first film in English, Haifaa al-Mansour plans to return to her native Saudi Arabia next month for her new project — but this time, she won’t be directing out of view by walkie-talkie from the back of a van.
“When I started making films — I started in 2005, when my first short came out — people didn’t believe in cinema in Saudi Arabia — films were illegal, the country was very segregated, so it was like ‘a woman making films, oh!’,” the 43-year-old director told AFP in an interview.
“But Saudi Arabia has changed,” Mansour said.
Late last year Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman lifted a decades-old ban on cinemas as part of his push to modernise the ultra-conservative country, which included in June allowing women to drive.
Saudi Arabia this year made its first official appearance at the Cannes film festival with its submission of a series of short films.
Mansour was the first woman to shoot a film in the country, the critically acclaimed “Wadjda” from 2012 about a girl who dreams of riding her own bike.
During the filming, she often had to direct her team via walkie-talkie while keeping out of sight in a van, since she could not be seen in public alongside male actors and crew members.
“I don’t think I will be in the van anymore,” she said.
“Now we have a film fund and they are supporting my next project, which is called ‘The Perfect Candidate’, about a young Saudi female doctor who decides to run for an office in a municipal election,” she said.
“It will be wonderful to be part of the evolution of film in the country,” she added.
“I think it’s amazing to have Saudi Arabia becoming normal again.”
