“We fear the unknown and yet some of us are without faces, and the question remains who?”
So begins the film “Who” directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour. The movie goes on to show a nightmare scene during which a man strangles a woman. There is a sense of relief as the woman having the bad dream awakens, and the terrible image fades from the screen. For a few minutes, all seems normal. Typical early morning activities take place, followed by a little boy going off to school and then his mother is seen chopping vegetables in preparation for lunch. Suddenly, the doorbell chimes. The mother answers the door to find a beggar woman, covered from head to toe in black. She presents a letter telling her tale of woe. The kindly homemaker goes to get some cash. When she returns, the beggar is gone. The woman thinks little of it and goes back to the kitchen.
Sadly, the film has a tragic ending. Soon, the audience sees that instead of waiting outside the door, the abaya-clad beggar has managed to hide inside the apartment. It takes only a moment for the strangulation scene of the mother’s nightmare to be played out in reality. But the film’s horror does not end with this awful crime. Seconds later the true shock of the film comes on the screen. “Who” is wearing the abaya? Under the black cloak is a man, not a woman! The criminal calmly ties his veil in place again and leaves the scene with no one the wiser.
“Times have changed in the Kingdom,” said Al-Mansour. “Often, things are not what they seem. We need to be more conscious of the current situation. In my film I am showing the ‘niqab’ or traditional face covering used for a criminal purpose. It is something we would not have considered in the past, but it is a reality of modern life.”
Al-Mansour went on to explain that the purpose of her film was not to shock but to educate. Saudis now get so much information from television and movies that film is without a doubt one of the most effective ways of conveying a message. While the dialogue in Al-Mansour’s seven-minute short movie is in Arabic, English and French subtitles have allowed the film’s message to reach a wide audience. “Who” was shown outside the Kingdom, for the first time, at the Emirates Film Competition held in Abu Dhabi last month.
“The film festival was a wonderful experience for me, because I received a lot of helpful comments and criticism, which I hope will enable me to produce better movies in the future,” said Al-Mansour.
She also discovered that even outside the Kingdom, there is extensive fascination with the possible ways in which her gender and nationality relate to her work. Al-Mansour noticed that the question, “How come you’re a Saudi and a woman directing this film?” was the first query from most people at the Abu Dhabi festival. “Sadly, even in the Gulf, people have negative perceptions of Saudi women’s talents,” Al-Mansour commented. “If my films will change those negative ideas even a little bit, I will be pleased.”
Coming from a family of artists, Al-Mansour has been fortunate to have their support in her filmmaking endeavors. In general, all directors of short films recruit family and friends to fill the actors’ roles. With “Who” it was the same. Al-Mansour convinced her relatives to help in every aspect of the filmmaking.
“My nephew played the little boy in the film. My brother was the criminal. Making a short film is very low budget,” she laughed. “My family and friends all helped by giving suggestions on the script, costumes, logistics, lighting — really everything that went into making the film. Of course they all became critics too, pointing out what was good and what was wrong. Some memories of the actual shooting of scenes are really amusing. For instance, because Saudi culture is so camera-wary, we had to be cautious about shooting the street scenes, choosing times in the early morning when few people would be out of doors. It was a big challenge.”
Al-Mansour admitted that the actual process of filmmaking turned out to be far from what she originally imagined. Initially, she went to Cairo and tried to get introduced to Arab film directors. She had hoped that she might be able to work there in some capacity on a film and learn the craft in that way. At the worst, she had thought that the Arab directors would give her advice. What she found was that none of the directors was willing to see her, let alone help her. A few young Arabs on the fringes of the film industry told her that she had to make some short films to show that she had talent, before anyone would be interested in giving her their time. So she got out her video camera.
“I have loved the art of filmmaking since I was very young,” Al-Mansour said. “I teach English to eat, but my passion is directing and I will keep working to get better. Filmmaking in Saudi Arabia or even in the Gulf isn’t common, but it’s time that changed. For young people all over the world, movies are a very important means of expression and it is no different here. I know that Saudi culture is conservative, but look at Iran. Iranians have a very conservative society but their movies win prizes all over the world. The Iranians work with very old equipment and in restrictive conditions but their talent is excellent and many of their films are well received.”
If talent is the defining ingredient in filmmaking, then Al-Mansour should have a star-studded future. Early reviews of “Who?” have praised the film and critics are impressed that a novice director could have done so well. Al-Mansour is already at work on her second film, “Bereavement of the Fledgling,” the story of a Saudi youngster who is sent away from his village for education, never to return.
“Because I am a young woman some people think that directing is just a hobby for me, but they are wrong,” said Al-Mansour. “I believe that it is past time for Saudis to express important subjects in films. The issues don’t have to be negative, but the subjects have to speak to people and encourage them to think. That’s what filmmaking is all about.”
Arab News Features 11 April 2003