Getting into any legitimate film festival is a feat because, with the amazing, and needed, democratization of film, making it more accessible to create, it has made the competition stiff to make it to that red carpet. And there are still few festivals whose names alone carry cache just for receiving entry. Cannes is one of them, so much so most films that wish to be screened at Cannes aim to start their festival season there, as while Cannes does not require World Premieres, most of the bigger festivals lean towards World Premieres or at least International Premieres as they want to be the festival to launch a film on the global stage. Norah, from filmmaker Tawfik Alzaidi, premiered last December at the Red Sea IFF and marks the first Saudi Arabian film to appear in Cannes’ official selection.
Watching the film, it was easy to understand its selection and its subsequent special mention from the Un Certain Regard jury, because, at its heart, the film is all about how art connects and moves us. Set in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s during the height of conservatism which began in 1979 in the country. You have Norah (played by Maria Bahrawi), who loves the music and magazines (particularly the photos) smuggled into her village from nearby cities by the shopkeeper. Norah, who must wear a burka whenever she leaves her aunt’s house (her parents died when she was a child). And then, Nader (played by Yagoub Alfarhan) arrives in town as the new teacher, and after drawing an image of Norah’s brother, Norah sets her sights on having her portrait painted by Nader. Despite the fact she can never remove her veil in front of him, and even being alone together puts them at risk.
He eventually agrees to paint her, taking sketches in stolen moments through a gap in the shelf in the shopkeeper’s store, as she provides a gap in her veil for him to see her eyes. These characters might or might not be falling in love with each other. That is not the purpose of the film. The film is about them encouraging or reinvigorating each other’s love for art.
Omar Fadel’s score was beautiful. It softly carried you through the emotions of the scenes. Whether it was Norah and Nader making actual eye contact or them connecting via him staring at the art he’s creating of her, and her staring at the image he’s already created of her brother in the flicker of candlelight.
The film’s ending is bittersweet because it doesn’t try to live in a fantasy world where the conservative regime of Saudi Arabia didn’t exist. From the start, anytime Nader tried to teach anything even slightly less conservative he was met with pushback. That’s why when he drew Norah’s brother, it was such a revolutionary act that caused a lot of excitement, both with the students, but also with Norah’s family. While Norah immediately wanted to seek out Nader to get him to do a portrait of herself in secret, Norah’s aunt wanted to burn the picture because she feared it and what having it could bring to their family.
This is Tawfik Alzaidi’s first feature, but with Saudi Arabia’s current investment into their burgeoning film market, and the reception this film has already received, including selling its French description rights to Nour Films, I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us next.
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