Directed by:
Haifaa Al MansourScreenplay:
Haifaa Al MansourCinematography:
Lutz ReitemeierComposer:
Max RichterPlots(1)
Wadjda is a 10-year-old girl living in a suburb of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Although she lives in a conservative world, Wadjda is fun loving, entrepreneurial and always pushing the boundaries of what she can get away with. Wadjda sees a beautiful green bicycle for sale that she wants desperately so she can race her friend, Abdullah. But Wadjda’s mother won’t allow it, fearing repercussions from a society that sees bicycles as dangerous to a girl’s virtue. So Wadjda decides to try and raise the money herself. At first, Wadjda’s mother is too preoccupied with convincing her husband not to take a second wife to realize what’s going on. And soon enough Wadjda’s plans are thwarted when she is caught running various schemes at school. Just as she is losing hope of raising enough money, she hears of a cash prize for a Koran recitation competition at her school. She devotes herself to the memorization and recitation of Koranic verses, and her teachers begin to see Wadjda as a model pious girl. The competition isn‘t going to be easy, especially for a troublemaker like Wadjda, but she refuses to give in. She is determined to continue fighting for her dreams. (Soda Pictures)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
Independent Spirit Awards
- 2014 - Gerhard Meixner, Haifaa Al Mansour, Roman Paul (Best First Feature)
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
- 2014 - Best Film not in the English Language
British Independent Film Awards (BIFA)
- 2013 - Best International Independent Film
Amanda Awards
- 2014 - Haifaa Al Mansour (Best Foreign Language Film)
Critics Choice Awards
- 2014 - Best Foreign Language Film
Venice Film Festival
- 2012 - Haifaa Al Mansour (Orizzonti Award for Best Film)
Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)
- 2013 - Most Popular Feature Film
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
- 2012 - Haifaa Al Mansour (NETPAC Award)
- 2012 - Grand Prix