Hijra

Director: Shahad Ameen

Cast: Khairiah Nathmy, Lamar Faden, Raghad Bokhari, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy

A young girl and her grandmother have their pilgrimage to Mecca interrupted by a runaway in this multigenerational Saudi road movie

A pilgrimage to Mecca is derailed when a devout grandmother (Khairiah Nathmy) loses one of her granddaughters and decides to embark on a road trip with remaining grandchild Janna (Lamar Faden) to find her before anyone else does. With the help of opportunistic driver Ahmed (Nawaf Al-Dhufairy), they make their way cross-country, letting the contradictions and unspoken tensions between them unfold. Director Shahad Ameen uses the landscape to draw parallels between the physical and emotional journeys of her characters (and, in a broader sense, the multiplicity of women in Saudi Arabia) so powerfully, you’ll feel the wind on your skin long after leaving the cinema. (ANNA BOGUTSKAYA)