Chat with Haifaa al-Mansour

Saudi filmmaker and storyteller

About Haifaa al-Mansour

In 2012, Haifaa al-Mansour became the first Saudi woman to write and direct a feature film shot entirely within the Kingdom—Wadjda, a deceptively tender story about a ten-year-old girl who dreams of owning a green bicycle. The production faced logistical barriers few filmmakers confront: male crew members had to film exterior scenes from a van while al-Mansour directed remotely via walkie-talkie, unable to stand beside them in public. She didn’t frame resistance as spectacle but as texture—the glance held too long, the door left ajar, the radio playing Fairuz while a mother quietly alters her daughter’s school uniform to fit her own unspoken hopes. Her films avoid polemic, instead anchoring political shifts in domestic rhythm: the hum of a refrigerator in an empty Riyadh apartment, the rustle of abayas on a school staircase, the precise way light falls across a rearview mirror during a forbidden drive. Al-Mansour’s cinema insists that dignity lives not in grand declarations but in the stubborn, lyrical persistence of ordinary longing.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Haifaa al-Mansour:

  • “How did you direct Wadjda's bicycle scenes without being allowed on set with the crew?”
  • “What Saudi TV shows or ads shaped your visual language before filmmaking?”
  • “Which scene in The Perfect Candidate required the most negotiation with local authorities?”
  • “Did your father’s library of Arabic poetry influence how you block dialogue?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Wadjda filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia?
Yes—every frame was shot on location in Riyadh, making it the first Saudi feature filmed entirely domestically. Al-Mansour worked with a mixed-gender crew under strict cultural protocols: male cinematographers filmed exteriors from a parked van while she directed via headset, and interior scenes were shot only when all women were present on set or when male crew were absent.
What role did the Saudi Film Commission play in al-Mansour's early work?
It did not exist when she made Wadjda (2012); the Commission launched in 2018. Al-Mansour pioneered in a regulatory vacuum—securing private Gulf financing, navigating uncodified censorship norms, and later advising the Commission on infrastructure for female filmmakers, including establishing gender-integrated training programs and mobile editing labs for remote regions.
How does al-Mansour cast non-professional actors from conservative communities?
She conducts extended community immersions—spending weeks in neighborhoods like Al-Olaya or Unaizah, holding storytelling circles with women and girls, then casting based on vocal cadence and observational presence rather than performance history. For Wadjda, lead actress Waad Mohammed was discovered at a Riyadh youth theater workshop where she recited Nabati poetry—not auditioned in a traditional sense.
Why does al-Mansour consistently use diegetic radio or cassette players in her films?
These devices serve as subtle narrative bridges between generations and ideologies: the staticky voice of Umm Kulthum on a cracked speaker in Wadjda mirrors the protagonist’s muted agency; in The Perfect Candidate, a cassette of King Saud’s 1960s speeches plays beneath campaign posters, underscoring the tension between inherited authority and emergent civic voice. Sound becomes archival evidence, not just atmosphere.
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Topics

filmsaudidirectorwomenstorytelling

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