Director Haifaa Al-Mansour had trouble even making the film due to the strict laws in Saudi Arabia about women even talking to men.
She had to stay inside a specially customized van equipped with monitors and communication devices to work on scenes shot in the streets of the capital Riyadh. Otherwise, she could have faced problems with authorities for being a woman on the street without a male guardian.
Saudi Arabia has no theaters and it is unlikely the film will even be shown in its home country. Theaters were banned in the 1980s to appeal to religious conservatives, and the last real film showing I can find information on was 2009 with the film Menahi. Most Saudi filmmakers are forced to switch to internet distribution such as YouTube, or DVDs. On that note, Al-Mansour is not even allowed to enter movie rental stores in Saudi Arabia because she’s a woman, and has to hand her driver a list of films to go inside to rent.
WADJDA is a story of a young Saudi girl whose burning desire for a bicycle leads her into bold
defiance of her society’s restrictive codes of gender and religion.Every day Wadjda passes a toy store window showing a beautiful green bicycle. Although it is forbidden for girls to ride bicycles, Wadjda concocts a plan to earn enough money to afford the bike by secretly selling ‘illicit products’ in her schoolyard. At first, Wadjda’s mother is too preoccupied with convincing her husband not to take a second wife to realize what’s going on.
Wadjda’s plans are soon exposed, leaving her with only one last chance to make the money she needs; a Koran recital competition with a big cash prize. With her slyness and cunning mind, Wadjda tries to find a way to rise above her fellow competitors to make her most cherished dream come true… the green bicycle.
