British GQ - 04.2020

W

hen Haifaa al-Mansour made her

last film in Saudi Arabia, in 2012,

she received death threats – and

the film received awards around

the globe. The 45-year-old is the country’s first

female director and this month she returns with

The Perfect Candidate. The much-anticipated

picture follows a young female doctor, Maryam,

who decides to run for local office – something

that only became legally permissible in Saudi

Arabia in 2015 – and the difficulties she faces

in a deeply conservative society.

The very first shot of The Perfect Candidate

is a woman driving. That seems like a

statement of intent. The film captures a

society in transformation. Saudi Arabia is

moving to become more progressive; they

Story by Thomas Barrie

are introducing more

liberal ideas. This film is

caught in the midst of all

that. Women can drive,

but the percentage of

women who drive in

Saudi Arabia is not very

high. It is the younger

generation, who haven’t

gone through all the

history, who are able

to embrace change

faster. It’s still very

conservative, but they

have more opportunities

than my generation.

Maryam’s father is a touring musician and

music plays a very central role in the film.

Why? Introducing progressive ideas in a

society such as Saudi Arabia won’t be easy.

Last month there were two men who were

performing on stage; someone tried to stab

and kill them. But it is very important: if

we want to create a country that hopefully

moves forward, we cannot create it without

human beings who have empathy and

sympathy. You cannot do it without art.

Cinemas first opened in Saudi Arabia two

years ago. Has that been a success? I think

it’s been a success, especially [for] American

films. But we don’t know how they will react

to a local film, as we don’t understand the

box office in the Middle East very well.

When you made your last Saudi film, you had

to direct by walkie-talkie from the back of a

van, for safety reasons. Was that the case this

time? No. This time was different – we could

work in the streets. Though sometimes, in

very conservative neighbourhoods, we didn’t

want to attract attention. There were some

people who tried to stop us; they wanted to

kick us out. We called the police and the police

told them, “You cannot stop them. They’re

here and you have to respect that.” It’s

something that never happened before.

‘You cannot

move Saudi

Arabia forward

without art’

DETAILS − FILM

Most directors aren’t really ‘brave’.

This one just might be

Meet the

first female

filmmaker

in Saudi

Political reads, reshuffled

What everyone should

be talking about...

Three Years In Hell by

Fintan O’Toole

Irish Times columnist O’Toole’s witty

chronicle of the slow-burn dumpster

fire that is Brexit is required reading if

you want to understand what the last

three years mean. Zingers aplenty. CB

OUT NOW.

What everyone will

be talking about...

The Gatekeeper by Kate Fall

Kate Fall did not have much of a

profile when she was David Cameron’s

Downing Street deputy chief of staff.

She’s attempting to change that with The

Gatekeeper, her account of the goings-on

behind the closed door of Number Ten.

OUT NOW.

THE PERFECT CANDIDATE IS OUT ON 27 MARCH. Photographs

Camera Press; Modern Films

Haifaa al-Mansour’s

fourth feature film,

The Perfect Candidate

(inset), is out this month

04-20DetailsFilmakerAmazonico_3539487.indd 72 12/02/2020 19:54

48 GQ.CO.UK APRIL 2020