Wadjda and Giant

[onager]

2. Thanks for the "Wadjda" mention.

One of my favorite movies.

Some amazing facts about "Wadjda" and you can find a lot more about it by Googling:

--Most amazing thing: the movie was directed by a woman, shooting on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. How did she do that? Unmarried/unrelated men and women are not allowed out in public together in The Magic Kingdom. People can be arrested on sight for that. You see one exception to that rule in the movie - drivers and other family employees. But I can't imagine a whole film crew wandering around without attracting attention.

According to the Internetz, she directed the movie "from the back of a van." Having lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for about 2 years, I'd guess bribery was also involved. But I'm just guessing.

Also amazing because Saudi Arabia has no movie theaters. Movies are banned - they are considered "graven images" under the Wahhabi sharia laws that govern Saudi Arabia. One woman reviewer at ImDB mentions that she could only see "Wadjda" in one place - the US Embassy in Riyadh.