Saudi film ‘Wadjda’ wins at Dubai festival awards

DUBAI: Saudi movie “Wadjda,” a tale of a girl’s quest to own a bicycle in the Kingdom won the best Arabic feature film at the Dubai Film Festival on Sunday. Directed by Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker, Haifaa Al-Mansoor, and shot entirely in the Kingdom, the film won the “Muhr” award. Ten-year-old Waad Mohammed, who plays the girl named Wadjda bagged the best actress award at the festival.
“Being awarded at a festival in a Gulf country means a lot to me,” said Mansoor, tears welling up in her eyes. Born in 1974, Mansoor studied literature at the American University in Cairo and film at the University of Sydney. Egyptian film “Chaos, Disorder,” by Nadine Khan — daughter of director Moahmmed Khan — won the Special Jury Prize in the festival that opened on Dec. 9. Turkish film “Yerlati” (Inside) by Zeki Demirkubuz, meanhwile, won Muhr award for the best Asia-Africa feature film. More than $ 600,000 was distributed among filmmakers from the Arab, Asian and African region as part of the Muhr Award Ceremony.