Amazing Saudi -- THE FIRST FILM IS BY A FEMALE

Although women in many countries are fortunate enough to have liberties of making their own career choices, those in other parts of the world do not have the same privileges. In Saudi Arabia women's rights are astonishingly outdated.

Wadjda is the first film ever to come from Saudi Arabia. On top of that surprising news, it is also from first-time female filmmaker, Haiffa al Mansour. In a country where women's rights are extremely backward, it is not only shocking but also a sign of progress that the film comes from a female director.

The first trailer for the drama-fueled film follows teenage girl Wadjda (Waad Mohammed), who competes in a Koran-reciting contest at school with the hopes to earn enough cash to buy herself a bicycle. Simultaneously, Wadjda's mother grapples with her failing marriage.

The charming trailer for the film pushes boundaries by addressing Saudia Arabia's archaic perception of women. With an upbeat, musical energy, this film not only looks like a delight to watch, but also serves to introduce viewers to a closed-off culture.

Q: Who encouraged you to go into films?

A: My parents were very liberal. They never put limits on us but provided the shelter for us to grow up without giving in to social pressure. Saudi Arabia is very conservative and tribal. Men are supposed to be the gatekeepers of honour. People would write to my father telling him not to let his daughter go on TV, but he never listened. He wanted his daughters to achieve whatever they wanted in life, and that is rare in Saudi Arabia. No one would come to our house because we were secular people. Now I appreciate it a lot, but during my teen years I always felt like an outsider.

Q: Is there a particular power in telling a story through the eyes of a child?

A: Children ask very simple questions that make us rethink the basics of right and wrong. You become part of the system when you grow up. You lose the ability to question and wonder. The actress who plays Wadjda comes from a conservative family which has told her she can act only until she is 16. That is quite lenient. Sometimes they allow girls [to act] only until they are 13, or until they look like a woman. I am hoping after 16 she will take over and they won't be able to stop her. A lot of my childhood friends were married off after high school even though some of them had great potential to be leaders. I feel like this film is for them.

Q: Why did you choose a bicycle as the object of Wadjda's desires?

A: I wanted it to be a simple story. The bicycle is a metaphor for freedom of movement that does not exist for women and girls in Saudi Arabia. If I want to go anywhere, I need permission. I cannot drive a car or walk, or even take a train without family permission. I wanted the acceleration of the bike to give life to that intellectual debate and make people understand that it is only movement.

Q: Wadjda is the first feature film to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. Was it a challenge to build a production crew?

A: It is not easy to be a woman in charge. Because I am young and a woman and an Arab, people always question me, but by the middle of the shooting we all came to an understanding. I also gained the support of Prince Al Waleed bin Talal and I was incredibly lucky to have producers who were willing to think out of the box and stand by me, even if that led them into the heart of one of the strangest and most challenging places on Earth to make a movie. People are still reluctant to change but the mere fact that this has been filmed in Saudi Arabia shows that society is opening up.

Wadjda begins screening in the UK and several parts of the globe from July 19. Hollywood.com