Profile - Haifaa Al-Mansour
Mary Ann Sieghart profiles Haifaa Al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia's first female film director.
Haifaa Al-Mansour directed the recently-released Wadjda, the first film entirely shot in Saudi Arabia. The film follows the dreams of an 11-year-old girl who is desperate to own a bike, and was partly inspired by Al-Mansour's early years, growing up in a small town near Riyadh.
After working for an oil company, Haifaa al-Mansour decided to become a film-maker, using some of her 11 willing siblings to help her with her first short films. Her very first short film, 'Who', was about a serial killer disguised as a woman in a burka.
She says she doesn't think women can change things in Saudi Arabia if they are "aggressive", but it's better to "have a career and pursue a dream."
Producer: Helena Merriman.
Published on Saturday, 3rd August 2013.
Available Podcasts from Profile
We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Profile webpage.