ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

The Perfect Candidate

Spotlight 

SPOTLIGHT August 2022: Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Filmmaker and Cultural Activist

Leslie Combemale , , , , , , ,

Haifaa Al Mansour has a vision and an aesthetic as a filmmaker, to be sure, and she’s bringing it to screens big and small. That’s important, but even more important is the impact she’s having on women around the world. She wants to be inspiring, and she has already proven herself to be as such. Haifaa Al Mansour is an advocate who stands up for women. She has a unique and passionate voice, and we are all lucky she chose to share it with us.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK January 7, 2022: The Best #MOTWs of 2021

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , ,

Team #MOTW looks back at the films we featured during 2021 and highlights our favorites. There are many things about 2021 that we want to forget, but these femme-helmed/femme centric films that brought inspiration, understanding, compassion, and respite replete with laughter are not among them — and they must not slip into oblivion. Add them to your watch list. Share the titles with friends. Enjoy all of AWFJ’s Best #MOTWs of 2021.

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Movie of the Week Reviews 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 14, 2021: THE PERFECT CANDIDATE

Jennifer Merin , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Empathetic and authentic, Haifaa Al-Mansour’s powerful drama The Perfect Candidate offers a compelling look at what life is like for women in modern-day Saudi Arabia — and how difficult it is for even smart, brave, ambitious and highly skilled women to stand up to the country’s institutionalized gender discrimination. Even when it couldn’t be clearer that their only goal is the betterment of their community’s standard of living.

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Reviews 

THE PERFECT CANDIDATE – Review by Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna , , , , , ,

In 2012, Haifaa al-Mansour took a rather giant leap for womankind by becoming the first Saudi woman to direct a feature film and the first set in her homeland. Back then, Wadjda focused on a 10-year-old girl and her desire to be allowed to own and ride a bicycle. This time out, The Perfect Candidate, her latest title set in her patriarchy-oppressed homeland pivots on, of all things, something near and dear to Joe Biden’s heart – infrastructure.

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Reviews 

THE PERFECT CANDIDATE – Review by Jennifer Merin

Jennifer Merin , , , , , ,

The Perfect Candidate is Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour’s compelling drama about a woman physician’s plight to get the impassable dirt road leading to the local hospital paved so that patients can get to the emergency ward in time for their lives to be saved. Because her appeals to the authorities are consistently denied — or worse yet, ignored — Dr. Maryam Alsafan (Mila Al Zahrani) decides that she will campaign for election to the town council with road repair as the sole issue presented on her platform. 

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