Haifaa Al Mansour Returns To Saudi Arabia To Shoot Crime Feature ‘Unidentified’ As UTA & Memento Int’l Board Sales For Cannes Market Launch

Melanie Goodfellow
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Director Haifaa Al Mansour is returning to her native Saudi Arabia for the shoot of crime feature Unidentified, exploring the reality of women amid the current period of immense social change in the country.

“I am so excited to return home to Saudi Arabia for my third film exploring the hidden lives of Saudi women, and to use the criminal mystery genre to explore a gripping story rooted in the deeper issues that affect women in the Kingdom,” said Al Mansour.

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The movie is in pre-production and due to begin shooting soon.  UTA Independent Film Group and Memento International are teaming up to co-sell and will launch the project in Cannes.

The drama is sparked by the discovery of the lifeless body of a teenage girl in the desert outside a small town. When no one claims the body, Noelle Al Saffan, a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who recently lost a child of her own, gets obsessively involved.

Despite a ticking clock that seemingly guarantees the girls’ senseless death will be discarded as a cold case, Noelle is determined to identify the body and uncover the truth.  She slowly unravels a mystery entangled within a traditional society in transition, where women are learning to create more space for themselves and to take control of their own destinies.

“There are huge changes taking place inside the Kingdom, particularly with regards to women and their operating environments, so I’m excited to bring audiences on a journey of discovery as we track down the clues that will reveal the cause of a young woman’s senseless death.  I can’t wait to share this film with the world,” said Al Mansour.

The director made history in 2012 with her debut film Wadjda, which was the first feature to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first feature made by a female Saudi director. Wadjda world premiered in Venice’s Horizons sidebar and went on to represent Saudi Arabia at the Oscars.

The film’s high-profile festival run and global box office success, put Al Mansour on the international cinema map, and she went on to direct English-speaking films Mary Shelley, starring Elle Fanning, followed by Nappily Ever After for Netflix.

Al Mansour returned to work in Saudi Arabia shortly after the lifting of the country’s 35-year cinema ban at the end of 2017, to make The Perfect Candidate, which premiered in Competition in Venice in 2019 and was also an Oscar entry for Saudi Arabia.

The script for Unidentified is written by Al Mansour and Brad Niemann, who also co-wrote The Perfect Candidate. The pair also produce the new film with Rotana Studios in the Middle East.

“We’re super excited to work with such a talented director,” said Memento International.

“The script of Unidentified is a real page-turner, a suspenseful crime investigation full of surprises, tackling societal topics with an entertaining approach that will please audiences worldwide. This new film will be another milestone to add to Haifaa Al Mansour’s impressive career.”

Al Mansour is repped by UTA, Anonymous Content, and Paul Hastings.

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