The Perfect Candidate

Young Saudi Arabian doctor Maryam has had enough. Once again, her travel permit was refused while the access road to the clinic is still not tarmacked after years of waiting. Maryam is no longer willing to accept the miserable conditions that surround the hospital nor her limited opportunities as a woman. If no one else is willing to make a change, she will take things into her own hands. Both outraged and determined, Maryam becomes the first female candidate for the city council. A surprise, not only for the long-term male incumbent, but also for her own family. Seven years after her wonderful debut WADJDA, director Haifaa Al Mansour returns with an amusing, sensitive and optimistic portrayal of a courageous woman caught between strict tradition and cautious emancipation in the patriarchal environment of her home country.