Haifa al-Mansur

She was born the eighth child in the family of the famous Saudi poet and has eleven brothers and sisters. She spent her childhood and youth in Hofuf ^[2] . She received a liberal upbringing from her father, who instilled in her a taste for cinema under the ban in the country of cinemas, showing her videos ^[3] .

With the support of her father, she graduated from American University in Cairo (Egypt), graduating in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in comparative literature ^[3] . Later, she continued her education at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney (Australia), receiving a master's degree in directing and film studies ^[2] .

Haifa’s cinematographic career began with short films Who? , The Bitter Journey and The Only Way Out , the last of which was awarded prizes at festivals of the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands ^[4] . They were followed by the Women Without Shadows documentary on the hidden sides of women's lives in the . The film was shown at 17 international film festivals and was awarded the "Golden Dagger" for the best documentary film at the Muscat Film Festival ( Oman ) and "special mention" at the 4th Arabian Film Festival in Rotterdam ^[5] .

The first full-length film “ Wajdah ”, shot by Haifa al-Mansur (shot according to her own script), became debut in several aspects for the cinema of Saudi Arabia as a whole - as the first full-length film shot by a female director and as the first feature film in general (of any director ), fully filmed on the territory of Saudi Arabia ^{[2] [6] [7] [8] [9]} . The film was shot with the support of the production company , owned by a member of the Saudi royal house, Prince Al-Walid ^[2] , and continued the topic of gender inequality, already touched by cinematographers in Who? and Women Without Shadows , against the backdrop of repeated statements by women of the kingdom against banning them from using personal transport. During the shooting, the director also experienced the effects of gender laws, forced to manage external shots from the studio's movie van, monitoring the process on the monitor and communicating with assistants and actors through walkie-talkies .

The world premiere of the film took place at the 69th Venice Film Festival ^[10] . Subsequently, the film was awarded a number of festival shows and awards, in particular, it became the first film of Saudi Arabia to win an Oscar for best film in a foreign language ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} , although it did not reach short list nomination. Subsequently, Haif al-Mansur published a novella of her script in the form of the story “The Green Bicycle”, which was also welcomed by critics ^{[15] [16] [17]} .

In 2014, her plans to put a romantic drama under the working title A Storm In The Stars about the writer Mary Shelley ^{[18] were} reported. The film later became known as Beauty for the Beast , which premiered in September 2017 at the Toronto Film Festival ^[19] .

In addition to her own work on films, Haifa al-Mansur participates as a film expert in the jury of film awards, in particular, she headed the jury of the Opera Prima Luigi de Laurentis Prize at the 70th Venice Film Festival ^[20] and entered the jury of the Special Look program 68- Cannes Film Festival ^[21] .

Family

Haifa al-Mansur is married to an American diplomat, a mother of two children. The last few years with his family lives in Bahrain . ^[2]

• 2001 - فلم نا والأخر / Me and the other
• من؟ / Who? ( short film )
• الرحيل المر / The Bitter Journey (short film)
• أنا والآخر / The Only Way Out (short film)
• 2005 - نساء بلا الظل / Women Without Shadows (documentary)
• 2006 - كيف الحال / How's It Going?
• 2012 - وجدة / Wadjda / Wajda (feature film)
• 2014 - Be Safe I Love You (feature film)
• 2015 - مبتعثات / Scholarship Girls (TV Series)
• 2017 - Beauty for the Beast (feature film)
• 2018 - Happiness in Hair (Feature Film)

The work of Haifa al-Mansur with the conflicting aspects of the traditions and laws of the Muslim states of the Persian Gulf met with mixed reviews. At home, she repeatedly received threats and criticism that assessed her work as disrespectful to Islam, responding to this by denying such suspicions, but at the same time stating that Saudi Arabia needs a more critical attitude to its customs and culture ^[3] . At the same time, part of the audience endorsed her work, stimulating the discussion of important issues that are usually silent as a taboo ^[4] . One of the events linked by a number of sources to the influence of her films was the mitigation of the ban on women riding bicycles after the success of the film “ Wajda ” ^{[22] [23]} .

Nominations and awards

Below is an incomplete list of the director’s nominations and awards (mostly confirmed by official festival sites or authoritative press):

For the documentary Women Without Shadows (2005)

• 2006 - Golden Dagger Award and Critics Award at the Muscat International Film Festival ( Oman ) ^[24]
• 2006 - UAE Film Competition Award in Abu Dhabi ^[24]
• 2007 - Jeddah Film Festival Award (Saudi Arabia) - Award for the film Women Without Shadows ^[25]

For the feature film “ Wajdah ”

• 2012 - Interfilm, CinemAvvenire and CICAE Awards and Orizzonti nomination for the Venice Film Festival ^[26]
• 2012 - Special mention and nomination for the Sutherland Trophy Prize at the 56th London Film Festival (United Kingdom) ^[27]
• 2013 - Netpac Award, nomination (special mention) on the Don Quixote Award and nomination for the Grand Prix of the Tallinn Film Festival “Dark Nights” (Estonia) ^[28]
• 2013 - EDA Female Focus Award and nomination for the EDA Award for the best film in a foreign language of the (USA) ^[29]
• 2013 - Award for the best debut feature film (South Africa)
• 2013 - Audience Award and nomination at the Grand Prix of the (Switzerland) ^[30]
• 2013 - Golden Prize for the best foreign film of the Guild of the German art-house-cinema ^[31]
• 2013 - A special mention of the ^[32]
• 2013 - Award for the most popular debut feature film of the (Canada) ^[33]
• 2013 - Audience Award at the International (USA) ^[34]
• 2013 - Rotterdam Film Festival's Dioraphte Award ^[35]
• 2013 - Roger Ebert Prize for the Best Debut Film ^[36]
• 2013 - Norwegian Peace Film Award of the (Norway) ^[37]
• 2014 - Award for the best Arabic film of the (United Arab Emirates) ^[38]
• 2014 - BAFTA Award nomination for Best Non-English Film ^[39]

Other

• 2015 - Sundance Institute / AJ + Global Filmmaking Award for the Sundance Film Festival for the film Be Safe I Love You ^[40]

• Haifa Al-Mansour (Eng.) On the Internet Movie Database
• Haifa al-Mansur on Facebook
• Wadzhda (English) on Metacritic website  
• Wadzhda (English) on the Rotten Tomatoes website  
• Marina Latysheva. St. Francis, “Sweet Ship”, Iceman - the most interesting projects of the Venice Festival (Unsolved) . RBC Daily (August 29, 2012). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• The Australian film "Lore" won the main prize of the festival in Norway (Neopr.) . RIA News (January 20, 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• “Arab Anna”: Israeli film at the Venice Film Festival (Neopr.) . NEWSru.com (September 3, 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Gina McIntyre. 'Wadjda' is Saudi Arabia's first nominee for foreign-language Oscar (Eng.) . Los Angeles Times (13 September 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Aizhan Tugelbaeva. The winners of the film festival "Eurasia" in Almaty (Unsolved) . TengriNews (September 20, 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Vladimir Zakharov. Here, at the "Edge of the World" (Unsolved) . Novaya Gazeta (September 9, 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Valery Kichin. Nominated for BAFTA Film Awards (Unc.) . Rossiyskaya Gazeta (January 8, 2014). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Leysan Timergaliev. Is there a cinema in Saudi Arabia? (Neopr.) IslamToday (February 26, 2015). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Emily Jones. Haifaa Al Mansour: Saudi Arabia's first female filmmaker (Eng.) . The University of Sidney (30 January 2013). The appeal date is November 26, 2015.
• Roy armes. New Voices in Arab Cinema . - Indiana University Press, 2015. - P. 1, 303-304. - 352 p. - ISBN 9780253015280 .
• Zubeida Malik. Haifa al Mansour becomes the first female Saudi director (English) . BBC News (18 October 2012). The appeal date is November 27, 2015.
• Rebecca Keegan. Haifaa Al Mansour's remarkable 'Wadjda' (Eng.) . , with reference to the Los Angeles Times (14 September 2013). The appeal date is November 27, 2015.
• Sophia Stein. Wadjda: A Conversation with Haifaa Al Mansour (Eng.) . Cultural Weekly (26 September 2013). The appeal date is November 27, 2015.
• E. Nina Rothe. 'The Shawati' Interviews': Wadjda Filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour (Eng.) . The Huffington Post . The appeal date is November 27, 2015.
• Alana Wulff. Lights, Camera, Haifaa (English) . The University of Sidney (2014). The appeal date is November 27, 2015.
• Haifaa Al-Mansour (English) (inaccessible link) . . The date of circulation is November 27, 2015. Archived March 4, 2016.