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One-On-One With ‘The Perfect Candidate’ Director Haifaa Al Mansour

The empowering film is about a woman who grows to believe in herself and goes out to take a chance, something Al Mansour wants other Saudi women to do…

Resting on her laurels has never been an option for Haifaa Al Mansour, who is acknowledged as the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia. After award-winning Wadjda saw her behind the lens of the first movie shot entirely in the Kingdom and the country's first Oscar entry, the director and writer came back to break ground once again with The Perfect Candidate.

The latest film by Al Mansour, who did her master’s degree in Directing and Film Studies at the University of Sydney, is the first to be supported by the young Saudi Film Council. Now available on OSN Store, The Perfect Candidate, which is written and produced by Al Mansour and Brad Niemann, with the help of Berlin’s Razor Film Produktion, was also one of just two films directed by women out of 21 in the running for last year’s Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival’s top prize. The multi-layered family drama, which like Al Mansour’s other work focuses on the challenges strong, spritied women who want to make a difference through hard work face in male-dominated societies, was also selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

In this interview, we ask Al Mansour about what it was like to come back to film The Perfect Candidate in a changed Saudi Arabia after a long spell in LA working on projects like Mary Shelley and Nappily Ever After. We also talk to one of the most significant cinematic figures in the Kingdom about why she felt it was important to pepper the touching film with cultural references, viewers’ emotions and what she loves most about Maryam’s character. Additionally, we touch on why Al Mansour felt newcomer Mila Alzahrani was the best choice to play the young doctor who surprises everyone by standing as a candidate for her local municipality, propelled by her desire to make her hometown a better place. Plus, you can find out about the challenges Al Mansour has faced, her favourite films, the women who have inspired her and much more.

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While "The Perfect Candidate" focuses on the pressing issue of women's rights like your other work, you also celebrate certain aspects of Saudi culture in the movie, including music, sense of humour and food. Did you want people to see the more private side of life in Saudi Arabia?

Absolutely, the private side of Saudi Arabia is something audiences never really get to see. Even within the country, we are a very private people so it is nice to open things up a little for everyone. For this film in particular I wanted to tell a story about a culturally conservative, traditional woman who decides to embrace the changes that are taking place and go out there and seize the moment in public. The reality of her journey, of stepping out of this very private world and into the public sphere, is that it will be difficult, and lots of people will be critical of her choices, but it will ultimately open up a whole new world for her. I want to stress to the women of Saudi Arabia how important it is to go out there and take a chance, even if you don’t have any experience in doing so. 

I also wanted to take a moment to celebrate the strong artistic and cultural legacy of Saudi Arabia and tell a story that stresses how important it is that we build upon those traditions as the foundation for our societies development. So much of our music, theatre, stories, and all forms of artistic expression were almost erased from our culture entirely, so I felt like we needed a story that reminded people of the strong artistic traditions we have, and how they can help us as we move forward into an exciting future. 

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