The protagonist of Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “The Perfect Candidate,” a young female doctor in Saudi Arabia, is getting fed up. She’s not receiving the funding she needs at her hospital and her male patients don’t trust her. In a trailer for the Venice and Toronto pic, an elderly man shrieks, “Get me a male doctor! Keep her away from me!,” when she tries to examine him. And then there’s Maryam’s (Mila Alzahrani) culture in general. Women are expected to stay in their place — the home — and let men handle everything else.
“The Perfect Candidate” sees Maryam taking matters into her own hands. She wants to change the system from the inside by running for the municipal council. Her sisters initially think she’s crazy and an interviewer assumes she is running on a platform of gardens and playgrounds instead of healthcare, but Maryam mostly remains undaunted.
“I’ll show them what I’m made of and they’ll look at me differently,” she vows in the spot.
Al-Mansour likely knows a thing or two about being a woman breaking with convention and making her way in spaces dominated by men — she is Saudi Arabia’s first female filmmaker. She previously directed the award-winning portrait of a Saudi girl, “Wadjda,” biopic “Mary Shelley,” and Netflix comedy “Nappily Ever After.” Earlier this year, she was selected for ReFrame Rise, a new initiative supporting established female filmmakers. Women and Hollywood presented Al-Mansour with our Trailblazer Award in fall 2017.
“The Perfect Candidate” is one of only two women-directed films screening in Competition at the Venice Film Festival this year. It premieres August 30. The film will make its TIFF debut on September 8. No word on a theatrical release yet.
