The Perfect Candidate
(AL-MURASHAHAT AL- MUTHALIA)

Maryam is a doctor in a clinic situated in a small town in Saudi Arabia. Although she wants to go to Riyad to apply for a surgeon’s position in a big hospital, she is refused the right to take a plane. Unmarried, she needs an updated authorisation signed by her father, who unfortunately is away. Rebelling against this deprivation of the right to travel, she decides to be a candidate in the local council elections. But how can a woman campaign for an election in this country? “Great changes are needed in the way of thinking, especially as far as women are concerned, for them to understand and integrate the freedom which is theirs to be had. That’s why it was my idea to tell the story of a traditional, culturally conservative woman, who decides to adopt these changes, take advantage of the opportunity and launch out. The path she takes will turn out to be difficult, and a lot of people will criticise her choices, but in the end it will open up new horizons. I want to tell the women of my country that it is so important to plunge into the fray and try their luck, even if they are so very unused to it.” Haifaa Al-Mansour