Chinese singer Victoria Song wears Zuhair Murad

Chinese singer Victoria Song wears Zuhair Murad

DUBAI: Eleven years ago, Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansour gave the world its first glimpse of what Saudi cinema would become. At a time when movie theaters were still banned, filming permits were nearly impossible to obtain, and no one — let alone a woman — received any encouragement to pursue the artform, she produced her first feature film, “Wadjda.” It took her five years, but she delivered not only the first film shot entirely in the Kingdom, but its first masterpiece.  

Today, much has changed — for both Al-Mansour and for Saudi film. Movies from the Kingdom are not only dominating the local box office, they’re making splashy debuts at major film festivals and trending worldwide on Netflix. Al-Mansour, meanwhile, has become one of the most in-demand television directors in Hollywood, helming episodes of hit series including “Archive 81,” “City of Fire,” “Tales of the Walking Dead,” and “Bosch: Legacy.” But even with a packed schedule, her gaze has never left her home country, and the burgeoning talent that follows the path she first trod — maintaining a particular focus on the young women making film and television.  

AlUla Creates Mentors Haifaa Al-Mansour (second from left), Jane Moore and James Richardson of