My Driver & I is Saudi writer-director-actress Ahd Kamel’s (Wadjda) very personal film set in 1980s and 1990s Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, telling the story of the relationship of a rebellious girl and her Sudanese chauffeur who form an unlikely friendship that is tested when she starts to take the wheel.
The coming-of-age movie from producers Georgie Paget and Thembisa Cochrane, inspired by Kamel’s childhood, had its world premiere on Friday as part of the Arab Spectacular Program of the fourth edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
Saudi actress Roula Dakheelallah, portraying Salma, and Sudan’s Mustafa Shehata, playing driver Gamar, lead the cast, which also includes Mishaal Tamer, Rana Alamuddine, and Qusai Kheder.
In a conversation with THR, the two stars lauded Kamel’s vision and talent. “I’ve worked with other film directors from all over the world, but working with a director who is Saudi and also an actress really helped me in my first big lead role,” Dakheelallah explained. And Shehata shared: “I fell in love with this story, and she directed with her soul.”
The two leads had never met before the movie, but Dakheelallah told THR that “I was a fan and I am a fan” of Shehata’s who thanked her and emphasized how “very talented” she is.
“We were able to have plenty of time to rehearse,” the actress also recalled. “I always believe in planning. So we spent a lot of time rehearsing, and we spent a lot of time going around Jeddah.”
The story told in the film takes place before the lifting of the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia in 2018. In their preparation, the actors basically switched their on-screen roles as Dakheelallah introduced Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city to her co-star. “I was taking long trips showing him Jeddah,” she recalled. “In the movie, he’s my driver. But in reality, I was driving him around. So we built our friendship that way.”
With a smile, Shehata pointed out “some link between her and her role, between Roula and Salma.” Dakheelallah agreed with a laugh: “Yeah, we’re both very stubborn.”
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