The premiere of a short film from Miu Miu by Saudi Arabian directors Haifaa Al-Mansour premiered at the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori last night.
The Wedding Singer’s Daughter is the 16th commission from Miu Miu Women’s Tales – the acclaimed short-film series inviting today’s original female directors to investigate vanity and femininity in the 21st century.
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About the marital setting of her new Miu Miu film, Al- Mansour believes that, “weddings are the actual mirror of society in Saudi Arabia: segregated, fragmented, along gender and class. I wanted to tell the story of those people, and capture that tenderness.”
“It’s very important for women to tell their stories. And sometimes it’s hard.” In this new story, the singer’s young daughter is the unlikely heroine. She ignores the other girls’ scornful judgment, and instead uses her nimble mind, just like an independent film-director. “For me, the little girl represents the future, and the future belongs to outsiders.”
Haifaa Al-Mansour
Based in Los Angeles, Haifaa Al-Mansour is considered the first female Saudi filmmaker. Her debut feature, Wadjda (2013) was a breakout hit, and the first ever foreign-language Oscar entry from Saudi Arabia.
As the country undergoes unprecedented cultural reform, which has recently seen women be given the right to drive and the first cinemas open to the public, Al-Mansour’s next film, The Perfect Candidate, will be the first feature to be supported by the new national Saudi Film Council.
