Wadjda Directed by by Haifaa al-Mansour
This movie was for us like a window into Saudi Arabia!
10-year-old Wadjda challenges deep-rooted Saudi traditions in a determined quest to buy a bicycle. When everything goes against her plans, she sees one last chance in her school’s Koran recitation competition and the large cash prize for first place.
The first film ever shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, WADJDA is the story of a girl determined to fight for her dreams.
Every day Wadjda passes a toy store window showing a beautiful green bicycle. Although it is forbidden for girls to ride bicycles, Wadja concocts a plan to earn enough money to afford the bike by secretly selling ‘illicit products’ in her schoolyard. But her plans are soon exposed, leaving her with only one last chance to make the money she needs; a Koran recital competition with a big cash prize. With her slyness and cunning mind, Wadjda tries to find a way to rise above her fellow competitors to make her most cherished dream come true… the green bicycle.
Wadjda, Saudi Arabia’s first female film, is country’s Oscar entry