| Director: | Haifaa Al Mansour |
|---|---|
| Production: | Razor Film Produktion (Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul), Haifaa Al Mansour’s Establishment for Audiovisual Media (Haifaa Al Mansour) |
| Running Time: | 101’ |
| Language: | Arabic |
| Country: | Saudi Arabia, Germany |
| Main Cast: | Mila Alzahrani, Dhay, Nourah Al Awad, Khalid Abdulrhim |
| Screenplay: | Haifaa Al Mansour, Brad Niemann |
| Cinematographer: | Patrick Orth |
| Editor: | Andreas Wodraschke |
| Production Designer: | Olivier Meidinger |
| Costume Designer: | Heike Fademrecht |
| Music: | Volker Bertelmann |
| Sound: | Uve Haußig |
Cinema
The Perfect Candidate
Venezia 76 Competition
Synopsis
A determined young Saudi doctor’s surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town’s first female candidate.
Director’s Statement
The Perfect Candidate focuses on a female Saudi doctor who challenges the patriarchal system by running as a candidate in the municipal council elections in order to fix the road leading up to her clinic. Through her journey I want to show an optimistic view of the role women can play in Saudi society and the contributions they can make towards forging their own destinies. I want to encourage Saudi women to take a chance and break away from the system that for so long has held us back. Change must ultimately be sustained and driven by the people who are most in need of improvements and increased mobility in their daily lives. The subtext of the film focuses on the need to celebrate and honor our strong cultural and artistic traditions and to let them guide the efforts to develop and modernise the country. All public displays of art have been forbidden in the modern era of the country’s development. As concert halls, movie theatres and art galleries begin to open up across the Kingdom again, it is important to look back at the rich artistic history we almost lost. There is beautiful music and rich imagery that we must revive, restore and reinvigorate within our society. With the opening of cinemas and allowing women to drive in the Kingdom, I want to show how much effort real change will entail. Women will now have opportunities to contribute and participate in a society that kept them on the sidelines for generations. The hardest part now is for women to look beyond the antiquated social standards and limited goals they had previously seen for themselves, to shatter the taboos that hold them back and decide to blaze new trails for themselves and their daughters.
Producers/Distributors
PRODUCTION 1: Gerhard Meixner,Roman Paul - Razor Film Produktion GmbH
Oranienburger Str. 50
10117 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. 493084712280
frumpler@razor-film.de
rpaul@razor-film.de
gmeixner@razor-film.de
http://razor-film.de/en/
PRODUCTION 2: Haifaa Al Mansour - Haifaa Al Mansour´s Establishment for Audiovisual Media
8494 Al Mubaraz
36342 – Al Mubarraz, Saudi Arabia
Tel. 966500340646
haifaa.almansour@gmail.com
WORLD SALES: Michael Weber – The Match Factory GmbH
Domstrasse 60
50668 – cologne, Germany
Tel. 49 221 539 709-0
michael.weber@matchfactory.de
ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Academy Two
Via Monte Zebio 9
00195 – Roma, Italy
Tel. 06 8416488
eddiebertozzi@academytwo.com
www.academytwo.com
PRESS OFFICE: WOLF Consultants
Gordon Spragg, Laurin Dietrich, Michael Arnon
Tel. +49 157 7474 9724
hello@wolf-con.com
www.wolf-con.com
