RIYADH: The award-winning Saudi film 鈥淣orah鈥� made its premiere in the Kingdom on Thursday after its international success at the Cannes Film Festival.

A special screening was held on Wednesday night at Roshn Front鈥檚 Vox Cinema, where director Tawfik Al-Zaidi was in attendance alongside the film鈥檚 star, Maria Bahrawi, and her acclaimed co-stars Yaqoub Al-Farhan and Abdullah Al-Sadhan.

Al-Farhan told Arab News: 鈥淭o be accepted in Cannes is an indication of how important this film is, and also an indication of how much progress the film industry (has made) here.

鈥淎lthough it鈥檚 still the beginning of it, we鈥檙e starting to see the results of the huge work that鈥檚 happening right now.

鈥淚鈥檓 very positive about the future. If this is the beginning, I think after five or 10 years, we鈥檒l be seeing a lot of great films from Saudi.鈥�

鈥淣orah鈥� achieved great success at the 78th annual Cannes International Film Festival, where it was the official selection for the 鈥淯n Certain Regard鈥� competition, one of the most critical titles of the event. It also received the Special Mention from the jury, making it the most notably recognized Saudi film at Cannes.

The film takes place in a remote Saudi village in the 90s, where Norah (played by Bahrawi) dreams of seeing horizons beyond her small village. As a new teacher, Nader (played by Al-Farhan) makes his way to her hometown, and Norah鈥檚 world begins to open up through art, knowledge and creativity, leading her to discover more about her own family history.

鈥淭he fact that they chose me for the role only two weeks before production was a surprise for me. But, thankfully, my first role in a film was a success and reached international audiences. I鈥檓 very proud and happy that today it鈥檒l be in cinemas and the world can see it, and I鈥檓 excited to see people鈥檚 reactions,鈥� Bahrawi told Arab News.

While it was first screened last December at the Red Sea International Film Festival, where it won the 鈥淏est Saudi Film鈥� award, the nationwide cinema premiere is a culmination of the film鈥檚 journey to its intended audience: the Saudi public.

Bahrawi said: 鈥淭he fact that they chose me for the role only two weeks before production was a surprise for me. But, thankfully, my first role in a film was a success and reached international audiences. I鈥檓 very proud and happy that today it鈥檒l be in cinemas and the world can see it, and I鈥檓 excited to see people鈥檚 reactions.

鈥淪ince I was young, I鈥檝e always dreamed of being an actress, and today I can say that I鈥檝e reached that and acted in my first film as a lead role鈥� AlUla was the city that made my first dream come true.鈥�

Taking public participation even further, a competition was presented to the public last Thursday inviting all girls named Norah to play a part. About 500 girls took part, and two winners received tickets to the special pre-screening event.

鈥淣orah鈥� is the first Saudi feature to be filmed entirely in AlUla. 鈥淭he city itself and its locations really complemented the film鈥檚 story, so that was a wonderful choice for the location,鈥� Bahrawi said.

While the film is both Bahrawi鈥檚 debut on the big screen and Al-Zaidi鈥檚 first feature film, it was also a personal experience for Al-Farhan, who is widely known for his role in the TV mini series 鈥淩ashash.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 so many similarities between me and the character, which is why it鈥檚 a very personal project for me and it鈥檚 so dear to my heart, especially after the achievement of the Cannes Film Festival,鈥� he said.

In preparation for the role, Al-Farhan spent time with a professional sketch artist in order to learn the craft for his role 鈥� even simple things like holding a pencil the right way.

He said that the beginning sketches featured in the film were his own work, but the final results were 鈥渂y a real artist.鈥�

Production was supported by the Film Commission through Daw, a national initiative to support and encourage Saudi filmmakers. The film also received support from Film AlUla, the Red Sea Film Fund and Generation 2030.

The inspiration for 鈥淣orah鈥� came to Al-Zaidi in 2015 from his need to express something within him. In the same way that Al-Farhan鈥檚 character, Nader, portrays his feelings on sketchbooks and canvases, Al-Zaidi uses the big screen.

He told Arab News: 鈥淚鈥檓 a lover of art in all its forms, whether its music, drawing or visiting museums, cinema encapsulates all of these arts and shows them beautifully through a film鈥檚 crew.

鈥淚 wanted to create these emotions between two people who love art, Norah and Nader. Art is a means of communication between people, and a means of expression as well.鈥�

As the Saudi film scene continues to develop and grow toward global horizons, Al-Zaidi is confident that the industry can overcome challenges.

鈥淐hallenges will always be there, but as they say, 鈥榮uccess has many fathers, but failure is an orphan鈥� ... if you believe in yourself, you will get there,鈥� he said.