MES Fall Film Series Screening: Wadjda (2012) dir. Haifaa al-Mansour

Notable for being the first feature film shot entirely inside Saudi Arabia, the first feature film directed by a Saudi woman and the first film submitted by Saudi Arabia for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Wadjda (2012) is a Saudi Arabian film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour. The film follows a young girl in Riyadh who wants to buy a bicycle. As Anthony Lane puts it in the NY Times, Wadjda is enjoyable to watch, while also effective in calling for social change.