Wadjda (2012)

An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.

Director:

Haifaa Al-Mansour (as Haifaa Al Mansour)

Writer:

Haifaa Al-Mansour (as Haifaa Al Mansour)

Stars:

Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 22 wins & 33 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reem Abdullah	...	Mother
Waad Mohammed	...	Wadjda
Abdullrahman Al Gohani	...	Abdullah (as Abdullrahman Algohani)
Ahd	...	Ms. Hussa
Sultan Al Assaf	...	Father
Alanoud Sajini	...	Fatin
Rafa Al Sanea	...	Fatima
Dana Abdullilah	...	Salma
Rehab Ahmed	...	Noura
Nouf Saad	...	Koran Teacher
Ibrahim Almozael	...	Toy Shop Owner
Mohammed Zahir	...	Iqbal - the Driver
Sara Aljaber	...	Leila
Noura Faisal	...	Abeer
Talal Loay	...	Abeer's Young Man

Storyline

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. After a fight with her friend Abdullah, a neighborhood boy she shouldn't be playing with, Wadjda sees a beautiful green bicycle for sale. She wants the bicycle desperately so that she can beat Abdullah in a race. 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 Quran recitation competition at her school. She devotes herself...

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | feminist film | character name as title | triple f rated | bicycle | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, brief mild language and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

Saudi Arabia's first official submission to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film (2014).

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Goofs

The first part of the movie shows a group of girls at school doing ritual washing before prayer. One girl wipes her ear right after washing her arm. The proper sequence is: arm, then head (hair), then ear.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2012 (2012)

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Soundtracks

121 solo
Written by Adam Fox and Stephen Day
Published by Sonoton Music GmbH & Co. KG
With kind permission of Sonoton Music Gmbh & Co. KG

User Reviews

How to survive

10-year-old Wadjda lives in Saudi Arabia. She's a bit rebellious, which means she wears basket shoes in school, listens to Western rock at home and has befriended a boy her own age. But she mustn't sing too loud, because the men can hear her and get offended.

Wadjda wants to go further and have her own bicycle, which invites trouble in her country. The story is told in a very warm way and you learn one thing. People in cultures totally different from yours are very much like you.

Realism here. Everyday people having everyday problems, but not the problems you have. A humanistic film, which makes it concerning everybody.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

Saudi Arabia Netherlands Germany Jordan United Arab Emirates USA

Language:

Arabic

Release Date:

16 May 2013 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Wadjda

Filming Locations:

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$41,253, 15 September 2013

Gross USA:

$1,347,747

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,499,169

Company Credits

Production Co:

Razor Film Produktion GmbH, Highlook Communications Group, Rotana Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1