
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female film director.
Haifaa Al-Mansour directed the recently-released Wadjda, the first film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. The film follows the dreams of an 11-year-old girl who is desperate to own a bike, and was partly inspired by Al-Mansour's early years, growing up in a small town near Riyadh.
After working for an oil company, Haifaa al-Mansour decided to become a film-maker, using some of her 11 willing siblings to help her with her first short films. Her very first short film, 'Who', was about a serial killer disguised as a woman in a burka.
She says she doesn't think women can change things in Saudi Arabia if they are "aggressive", but it's better to "have a career and pursue a dream."
Producer: Helena Merriman.
By BBC Radio 44.1
9898 ratings
Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female film director.
Haifaa Al-Mansour directed the recently-released Wadjda, the first film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. The film follows the dreams of an 11-year-old girl who is desperate to own a bike, and was partly inspired by Al-Mansour's early years, growing up in a small town near Riyadh.
After working for an oil company, Haifaa al-Mansour decided to become a film-maker, using some of her 11 willing siblings to help her with her first short films. Her very first short film, 'Who', was about a serial killer disguised as a woman in a burka.
She says she doesn't think women can change things in Saudi Arabia if they are "aggressive", but it's better to "have a career and pursue a dream."
Producer: Helena Merriman.

7,639 Listeners

375 Listeners

876 Listeners

1,046 Listeners

5,520 Listeners

1,799 Listeners

1,763 Listeners

1,049 Listeners

1,920 Listeners

1,979 Listeners

488 Listeners

46 Listeners

30 Listeners

32 Listeners

128 Listeners

164 Listeners

51 Listeners

58 Listeners

114 Listeners

2,733 Listeners

3,177 Listeners

1,002 Listeners

119 Listeners

39 Listeners

45 Listeners