Directed by Haifaa al-Mansour

Wadjda is a milestone for cinema in so many ways. A beautifully simple story wrapped in both the complex world it plays out in, and in the complex situation of it’s actual production. The director had to shoot many exterior scenes in the back of a van because she could not publicly mix with the male members of the crew. It’s real insight like this we can only gauge through the fictional stories of cinema. It’s so difficult to rate, considering the wild restrictions it was made under, but the truth is, it was still a tenderly told story. Neorealism at it’s finest – it’s a must-see.

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