The INTERFILM Jury at the International Film Festival Venice 2012 has chosen as winner of the 2nd INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue the film Wadjda directed by Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia/Germany 2012).

 

Citation: “Ten years old Wadjda living with her mother in the suburbs of Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, wants to ride a bike. While everyone regards her wish as a scandal since it is not allowed to girls, Wadjda fights for her dream, even if she has to win the Coran reciting contest. Stubborn, witty, and beautiful in her integrity, Wadjda is the rising heroine of the new ‘women’s liberation movement’ in her country. We therefore give the INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue to Haifaa Al Mansour, first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia.”