The film premiered locally at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah last December.
Saudi Arabia has announced its first-ever selection in the Cannes Film Festival with Norah, a drama directed by Saudi writer-director Tawfik Alzaidi.
The 2024 festival will run from May 14 to May 25.
The film will be included in the Un Certain Regard section of the film festival, which recognises new talent and unconventional narratives and runs alongside the Palme d’Or competition.
Norah will be in competition with 19 other films from around the world.
Set in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, Norah is described as a moving narrative about the transformative power of art in inspiring and changing minds and hearts. Tawfik Alzaidi both penned and directed the film, making it the first Saudi Arabian feature entirely shot in the AlUla region of Saudi Arabia.
Having premiered locally in December at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Norah marks a significant milestone as the first Saudi film to grace the screens of Cannes, symbolising the nation’s burgeoning ambitions in filmmaking since the lifting of its 35-year-old ban on cinema in 2017.
الإعلان الرسمي الأول لفيلم نورة
NORAH Official Trailer pic.twitter.com/XsdRjy46np
— Tawfik AlZaidi توفيق الزايدي (@Tawfikalzaidi) November 6, 2023
The film centres around its titular character, portrayed by Saudi newcomer Maria Bahrawi, an illiterate orphaned young woman trapped in a remote village facing an arranged marriage. Her encounter with Nader, an artist turned schoolteacher played by Saudi star Yaqoub Alfarhan, ignites a profound passion for art and a yearning for a life beyond the confines of her village.
Shot in AlUla, a vast expanse of Saudi desert and ancient city ruins, Norah received acclaim and financial support from the Saudi Film Commission’s Daw Film Competition, an initiative launched in 2019 to nurture Saudi film talent and production.
Produced by Alzaidi and US producer Paul Miller, alongside Jordanian producer Sharif Majali, Norah represents a collaborative effort between Saudi production companies Black Sugar Pictures and Nebras Films.
Faisal Baltyuor, a leading figure in the Saudi film industry, hailed the selection of Norah as a significant milestone for Saudi cinema on the global stage. Baltyuor, CEO of prominent distributor CineWaves Films, emphasised the kingdom’s increasing presence in international film festivals, including Cannes, following its official attendance in 2018.
Global rights to Norah were secured in December by TwentyOne Entertainment, a new Riyadh-based company launched by former Universal Pictures executive Paul Chesney, underscoring the film’s international appeal and the growing recognition of Saudi talent in the global film industry.
