A big thank you to Jenny and Sam for emailing me about this film. I have known about it previously, but have not gotten around to posting about it. Their email provided the impetus to get it done! It is always so lovely to get emails from readers, supporters, family, friends and like-minded people. Happy holidays everyone! Enjoy! NG.
The end of the year is fast approaching and the holiday season is nearly here.
If you are looking for a film to watch over the festive season and are keen to try something totally unique (and bicycle focused), I’d highly recommend Wadjda.
Wadjda is an M-rated Arabic language drama film starring Waad Mohammed, (Wadjda), Abdullrahman Al Gohani (Wadjda’s father) and Reem Abdullah (Wadjda’s mother).
This film is written and directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour and it’s her directorial debut film. The film premiered in 2012 and is entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. As such, it is touted as being Saudi Arabia’s first-ever feature film.
And the whole film has at its core a green bicycle.
What is Wadjda about?
Wadjda is a simple, but poignant story.
It centres on a young girl (Wadjda) and what happens when she pursues her dream of owning a bicycle of her own to race her friend Abdullah, despite it being culturally inappropriate.
Wadjda’s desire to get a bike means facing various family and cultural expectations in a series of ups and downs with her mother, father, friends, bike shop owner and community members.
Despite all, Wadjda is adamant that she needs to own a bike of her own.
To achieve this, the ‘rebellious’ Wadjda enters a Koran recitation competition at her school in order to win the prize money so she can buy a green bicycle. The story is tailored to highlight the pressures and difficulties faced by women in Saudi Arabia. This film has been revered for providing a rare glimpse into the usually secret lives of Saudi women ad what life is like behind closed doors. It is also an exploration and celebration of the warm relationships between mothers and daughters.
I am thoroughly delighted that the ‘first feature film’ to come out of Saudi Arabia has such strong bike riding, cultural/social gender, equity and children’s determination themes, issues and engagement.
The importance of this film has been discussed widely. As Laura Nicholson writes for Dispatch: ‘That a film about a young girl protesting systematic oppression through the succinctly metaphorical dream of riding a bicycle was the first to be recognised as a product of (an emerging) Saudi Arabian national cinema, is exceptional. That the film was created by an Arab woman hailed as the first, Saudi female filmmaker, is monumental.”
Wadjda was Nominated for a 2013 BAFTA award for Best Film not in English.
Read more about the plot, cast, production and the array of awards this film has received here.
Images: All images are stills from Wadjda. Official feature film poster.