Saudi film to be screened in Israeli film festival

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - A Saudi film will open an Israeli women's film festival slated for December in Jerusalem, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"Haifa al-Mansour's film [The Perfect Candidate] will be screened in the Israel Women's Film Festival that will be held in Jerusalem next month," the ministry said on Twitter.

"The Saudi film won the Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and represents Saudi Arabia in the Oscars," it added.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not mention whether it had taken the Saudi director’s permission to showcase her film and it was not immediately clear as to what the Saudi director's position was regarding the step taken by the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The film features a Saudi female doctor character who runs for municipal elections.

The Saudi Oscar Committee has chosen The Perfect Candidate as a competitor for the international feature film category.

*Bassel Barakat contributed to this report from Ankara.