The Saudi film “Noura,” directed by Tawfiq Al-Zaidi, received a special mention from the Un Certain Regard competition jury at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
“Noura” is the first Saudi feature film to be filmed entirely in the AlUla region, and the first Saudi film to participate in an official section at the Cannes Film Festival.
Last December, during the third session of the Red Sea Film Festival, the film won the “Al-Ula Film Award for Best Saudi Film.”
The events of the movie “Noura” take place in a remote village in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the nineties of the last century, where “Noura” spends most of her time away from the world of the village, while “Nader”, the new teacher, arrives in a remote village and meets her, the brave young woman, who… She inspires him and awakens his talent and passion for art. In return, he offers her a wider world of possibilities outside the village. She realizes that she must now leave her world after she discovers that Nader is not just a new teacher in the village, to find a place where she can achieve what she wants.
The film stars Yacoub Al-Farhan, Maria Bahrawi, and Abdullah Al-Sadhan, and is written and directed by Tawfiq Al-Zaidi. The film’s script previously won an award from the Light Film Competition organized by the Saudi Film Authority, an initiative launched by the Saudi Ministry of Culture to support and encourage the next generation of Saudi filmmakers.
Special congratulations
The Red Sea Film Festival Foundation was keen to congratulate the filmmakers, saying in a post on Instagram: “The Red Sea Film Foundation is proud of its role in supporting this exceptional film through the Red Sea Fund.”
AlUla Film also offered congratulations, saying: “Congratulations to director Tawfiq Al Zaidi, for receiving a special mention at the Cannes Film Festival. His first feature film (Noura), which was filmed in AlUla, entered history as the first Saudi film to be officially selected for the Nazra Award.” What’s at Cannes 2024?
List of awards
“Black Dog” won the Best Film award, while “The Story of Souleymane” won the Jury Award, and Roberto Minervini won the Best Director award for “The Damned,” shared with director Rungano Nyoni, for “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”
Anasuya Sengupta won the Best Actress award for her role in the movie The Shameless, and Abu Sinjari won for her role in the movie The Story of Souleymane.
The Un Certain Regard competition jury was headed by Canadian actor, director, screenwriter and producer Xavier Dolan, and members included French-Senegalese writer and director Maimouna Doucouré, Moroccan director Asmaa El-Moudir, German actress Vicky Krebs, and director Todd McCarthy.
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