I’m not an activist, says Saudi’s first female filmmaker

It seemed only right that an interview with Saudi Arabia’s first female film director began on two wheels.

Before we met up, Haifaa al-Mansour hadn’t ridden a bike for 10 years – and only then, in secret, in the courtyard of her home. Up until a few months ago, women were forbidden from cycling in Saudi Arabia.

Haifaa’s film is about a little girl who desperately wants a green bike so she can beat her friend, Abdullah, in a race.

The film lays bare the inequalities in Saudi society.

This is the only country in the world that forbids women driving – a male driver is the only option if you want to move around.

Observing but not politicising women

Schoolgirls must keep out of male view to protect their modesty. As a director, Haifaa observes but doesn’t politicise the lot of Saudi women.

She said: “I wanted to make a film coming from a harsh place like Saudi but a film about human resilience… a person who’s trying to find her voice and assert herself in a society that doesn’t see her.

“I’m not an activist, I don’t go and provoke people with a sign “I’m making a film” – for me, i’m a filmaker, I want to make a film that is intimate and tells the story.”

Haifaa’s film is the first feature ever shot entirely in Saudi Arabia – she got it past the censors though it will leave many viewers furious at the powerlessness foisted on women there. She didn’t court confrontation; but traditionalists still complained.

When they filmed in conservative areas, segregation rules meant Haifaa had to stay hidden from public view.

Her film comes out next week across the UK where we take our freedoms for granted. There are no cinemas in Saudi Arabia – so Haifaa’s countrymen and women will be watching it on DVD.