The Oscars are just around the corner, with the month of January confirming who has made the shortlist for the coveted Best Foreign Language Film award. A number of titles from the MENA region have been submitted for consideration, including that of Saudi director Haifaa Al Mansour’s ‘The Perfect Candidate’. From Cairo, Ahmed Gabr takes a look at the contenders…
The entry – which tells the story of a Saudi doctor who takes on her country’s patriarchal system by running in municipal elections – is particularly significant as it is the Kingdom’s first Academy Award submission following a ban on theatres being lifted in 2017. What’s more is that it is the first to be supported by the Saudi Film Council, an organisation launched at Cannes Film Festival in 2018.
We take a look at other Arab titles of recent times that have achieved international acclaim, and why they’re worth watching.
WADJDA - SAUDI ARABIA
‘The Perfect Candidate’ isn’t the first of Al-Mansour’s films to be submitted to the Oscars. It was her critically acclaimed drama, ‘Wadjda’, that became the very first title to be submitted by the Kingdom back in 2013 for the 86th Academy Awards.
It marked the debut of a Saudi female filmmaker, with a motion picture entirely shot in the Kingdom. The story of a 10-year-old Wadjda, and her desire to buy a bicycle to race against a male friend, sheds light on traditions and women’s rights.
In an article for The Guardian newspaper, film critic Henry Barnes described ‘Wadjda’ as a message that Al-Mansour wrapped “inside a love letter to her people”.
ESHTEBAK/إشتباك (CLASH) - EGYPT
The Egyptian film industry has a good track record when it comes to titles receiving global acclaim, one of the most recent being ‘Eshtebak’ – or ‘Clash’ by director Mohamed Diab.
Set in a police van during a period of street protests and unrest in 2013, the film chronicles a period of political and societal instability the country, where a clash of ideologies and personalities unfolds between communities. It’s this dynamic that’s portrayed by the people trapped in the van.
‘Eshtebak’ was selected as the opening film for the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and screened internationally across Europe, and in Brazil and China. It was publicly endorsed by the actor Tom Hanks in a letter to the director, saying: “Your film will go to great lengths to enlighten many. Audiences will see that humanity is a fragile community, but we are all in ‘this’ together.”
AL-JANNA AL-AAN/الجنة الآن (PARADISE NOW) - PALESTINE
A Golden Globe winner for Best Foreign Language Film – and nominated in the same category at the 78th Academy Awards – ‘Paradise Now’ was described by its Palestinian director, Hany Abu-Assad, as “an artistic point of view of the political issue”.
It digs deep into the human aspects of the Palestinian conflict, following the fictional story of two friends recruited by a terrorist group to become suicide bombers in Tel Aviv. Armed with explosives, they attempt to cross into Israel, but are pursued by suspicious border guards and become split. When they reunite, one character decides against bombing targets, and attempts to convince his friend to quit as well.
‘Paradise Now’ wasn’t Abu-Assad’s only Academy Award nomination. His film ‘Omar’ – which won the Muhr awards for Best Film and Best Director at the 2013 Dubai International Film Festival – was also shortlisted for the same category at the 2014 Oscars.
CAFARNAUM/كفرناحوم (CAPERNAUM) - LEBANON
Directed by celebrated Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki, ‘Capernaum’ depicts the complicated life of undocumented migrants, refugees and workers in Lebanon through the story of 12-year old Zain living in the slums of Beirut.
The film generated more than $68 million worldwide, more than 17 times its production budget, becoming the highest grossing Middle Eastern and Arabic movie of all time.
‘Capernaum’ won the Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival – it received a solid 15-minute standing ovation after its screening there – and was shortlisted for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.
Labaki’s other productions include ‘Caramel’ and ‘Where Do We Go Now?’.
THEEB/ذيب - JORDAN
With events unfolding in the Wadi Rum desert in southern Jordan during World War I, this drama directed by Naji Abu Nowar starred non-professional Bedouin actors.
‘Theeb’ is internationally recognised for being the first Jordanian nomination to ever make it to the shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, doing so in 2016.
It was also nominated for Best Film Not in the English Language at the 69th British Academy Film Awards, and secured the Best Director award at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.