Saudi Arabia has chosen Shahad Ameen’s female-focused drama Hijra as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards, the Saudi Film Commission announced on Tuesday.
The drama world premiered in Venice’s Spotlight sidebar in September, winning the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film.
It follows 12-year-old Janna who sets-off for Mecca with her strict grandmother Sitti and rebellious sister Sarah to perform Hajj.
The trip takes an unexpected turn when Sarah disappears, sending Janna and Sitti on a frantic search across Saudi Arabia in the shadow of fears over the reaction of the girls’ father if he finds out. In the process, secrets about the grandmother’s complicated past come to light, offering her opportunity for redemption.
Ameen has described the film as an exploration of “the quiet revolutions of women in motion” looking at how “how freedom is understood across generations and time” and what freedom means for women in Saudi Arabia.
The director is one of the most important female cinematic voices to have emerged out of Saudi Arabia in the wake of the country’s lifting of its 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017.
She previously represented Saudi Arabia with her 2020 debut feature Scales.
The film was lead produced by the Iraqi Independent Film Center with Jeddah-based companies Jeddah-based Bite Ameen and Ideation Studios with the support of the Red Sea Fund, Film AlUla, Daw Film, The Saudi Film Commission, Neom Media and the Ithra Film Fund.
Saudi Arabia has submitted to the Oscars since 2013 with Haifaa al-Mansour’s Wadjda as its first entry.
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