Maryam

Haifaa Al Mansour’s newest film focuses on the medical doctor Maryam from Saudi Arabia, who challenges the patriarchal system by enlisting herself as a candidate for city council. Her goal is to gain power in order to mend the broken road leading to the clinic where she works, which has been neglected by the authorities for too long.

Despite meeting resistance on all fronts, the first female candidate to city council ignite more and more interest, and Maryam’s development throughout the film highlight what women can bring to the future of Saudi Arabia. Al Mansour shows the slow expansion of Saudi women’s opportunities to shape their own lives, with a film that encourages them to break out of a system that has been holding them back.

After 40 years of prohibitions, the Saudi Arabian state has now opened up for cinemas and film production in the country, and Maryam is made with state support. Saudi politics is a disputed topic, but the fact that Al Mansour is allowed to create this film under what is still an authoritarian regime, is a clear step in expanding the freedom of speech for Saudi citizens. It is furthermore our responsibility as viewers to put pressure on the authorities in order to support other people like Maryam in the rest of the Saudi Arabian society.

Haifaa Al Mansour has studied literature in Cairo, Egypt, and holds a master’s degree in directing from the University of Sydney in Australia. She is regarded as the first female director from Saudi Arabia, and debuted in 2012 with the film Wadjda, which is regarded as the first Saudi film that has been filmed in Saudi Arabia. Maryam (The Perfect Candidate) is her second feature film and premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019.