Egypt, S.Arabia step up trade ties through coordination council talks    Egypt reviews progress on $200m World Bank-funded waste management hub    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    SCZONE, Tokyo Metropolitan Government sign MoU on green hydrogen cooperation    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt's FM, Palestinian PM visit Rafah crossing to review Gaza aid    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



First art house cinema opens with heartwarming Wadjda
Published in Daily News Egypt on 18 - 03 - 2014

Audiences in Egypt scour the city looking for film screenings that do not include 3D gimmicks and local low comedy offerings. Screenings at art and cultural centres have entertained audiences with international and local indie offerings, away from screaming children and the sound of popcorn being chewed, but most are only temporary openings. Zawya, the first art house cinema in Egypt, has changed this.
We went to the opening of Zawya, a cinema that says it is for the "movies that don't get theatrical releases". Zawya is at the renovated Odeon cinema in downtown and the first night saw the screening of Wadjda by Saudi filmmaker Haifa Al-Mansour.
The decision to open Zawya came as an expansion of the Euro film panorama in 2013. The core selection of European films had no options to be seen in Cairo beyond the nine days of the panorama and audiences had no access for art house cinema. Luckily, each film shown at Zawya will be screened for at least a week and for the price of EGP 20. Though the renovated cinema is not in a condition that audience members are used to encountering in expensive mall cinemas, Zawya has an irresistible charm, with its upwardly-positioned screen and its nostalgic locale.
Wadjda tells the heartwarming story of a young girl from Riyadh who wants a bicycle and will stop at nothing to achieve her dream of beating her male friend in a race, despite Saudi norms and traditions which look unfavourably upon girls riding bicycles. The film is entirely in Arabic and is shown with English subtitles.

For many, the film grabbed attention for its many firsts. It is the first film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, the first film the country has chosen to submit for the Academy Awards, the first film by a Saudi Arabian female filmmaker, and one of the few made that are at some level critical of Saudi Arabian society.
Wadjda is a simple story of a rebellious girl who wants a bicycle and faces the most unfair of odds. The film is less about the struggle of women in Saudi Arabia as it is about Wadjda's own struggle and her unyielding resolve to achieve her dream. The plot follows her as she tries to make money by any means necessary: selling bracelets to school friends, making mixed tapes, doing favours, and finally entering a school Quran recital competition as a means to buy her bicycle.
The next film to be featured on the Zawya screen will be The Past, by Asghar Farhadi, the same director who brought you the Oscar winning "A separation". Despite only being available for one more day before Zawya moves on, Wadjda is worth seeing. Not only because it is historically important as an example of an excellent film coming out of a place with no cinematic industry to speak of, but because it is a moving story that will make you laugh a lot and possibly cry a little through the characters' own bittersweet lives in Al-Mansour's well crafted narrative.


Clic here to read the story from its source.