‘Wadjda’ to be screened at Lok Virsa

Islamabad
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Cast: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah
The Lok Virsa film club -- 'Mandwa' -- is screening a Saudi-German co-production ‘Wadjda’ from 2012 in its library on Saturday (October 3) at 6 p.m.
‘Wadjda’ has become one of the most prestigious feature films from the Middle East in the recent years. It was the official entry from Saudi Arabia for an Oscar (as Best Foreign Film) but it did not get the nomination. What it got was more praise from the international community. It was not only nominated for BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television) but shown at prestigious Venice International Film Festival, screened in the United States, several European countries and at more festivals, winning more awards at Dubai, Palm Springs and Rotterdam. Such were the acclaims showered on ‘Wadjda’.
Director Haifaa has gone for an eleven-year old schoolgirl as her central character from Riyadh. The girl has been keenly watching a green bicycle which she obviously wants to own, but can she! This is the major conflict of the film. It is Riyadh where women are forbidden to vote and drive a car. All this is looked down upon both in and outside the family. Even her liberal mother would not allow that to happen. The mother is passing through a more serious conflict in life. The husband is just about ready to get married again. Two dramatic conflicts are locked in right there.
The director has intelligently gone for an eleven-year old girl who is looking for a way out as a child. The events take place on the streets of Riyadh and much of the film was lensed from inside a vehicle. The director was not supposed to mix with the people on the streets. The innocent girl may or may not understand the gender compulsions but she sure wants the bike. The director uses the child at her sweet will to move in and out of the dramatic situations. She may even beat a friend in the race but there is this highway before her -- she is not allowed to drive.
‘Wadjda’ took several years in the making. Nobody but nobody was willing to fund this risky venture, let alone go for lengthy permits and permission to lens the film on the streets of Riyadh. A part of the funding came from a prince and the rest from foreign collaborators in Germany. This was necessary because Saudi Arabia has no film business, cinemas or studios.
‘Wajda’ has been filmed in the unglamorous, documentary-like Italian neo-realism format from late-forties (Read: Bicycle Thief, Shoeshine). The author can be reached at aijazzgul@gmail.com