‘Wajda’ to feature in London film fest

Saudi film “Wajda,” portraying women’s role in the Saudi society, will be a major event on the concluding day of the 17th Human Rights Watch Film Festival opening in London on March 13.
Saudi Director Haifa Mansour’s film received the award for Best Film at the Dubai International Film last year.
The film tells the story of a 10-year-old schoolgirl, and many like her, living in a traditional society.
The Human Rights Watch’s film festival focuses on issues of human rights including the rights of women and the disabled and immigration besides occupation, and lawlessness, Al-Sharq daily reported yesterday.
The director of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival said ‘Salma,’ directed by British Director Kim Longinotto telling the story of a south Indian Muslim girl will be the opening night film in the festival while the last film will be the Saudi film Wajda. He added that 19 films are participating in the event.
While the festival will feature 19 films, five of them are dramatic stories and 14 documentaries from various countries. The show will also accompany discussions with film directors and film critics.
Each year, the festival’s programming committee screens more than 500 films and videos to create a program that represents a range of countries and issues.
Wajda is considered to be the first feature film that is completely shot in Saudi Arabia.