Haifaa Al Mansour’s The Perfect Candidate gets digital release this month

Staff Writer

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Haifaa Al Mansour’s new film, The Perfect Candidate, will be released digitally this month after the closure of major cinema chains amid coronavirus concerns.

UK distributor Modern Films was set to release the movie in cinemas on 27th March, but following advice from the government to minimise non-essential travel during the pandemic’s spread, the film has now jumped from the big screen to living rooms instead.

The director of Wadjda broke new ground with what was the first-ever film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia — and the first made by a Saudi woman. Now, she returns to the kingdom with The Perfect Candidate, a tale of one woman’s quest to challenge not only the system but also herself. It follows a determined young Saudi doctor’s surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town’s first female candidate.

The film will be released on Friday 27th March on Curzon Home Cinema, and will also be viewable through the BFI Player and Modern’s own streaming space. The hope is to then release the film theatrically in a few months’ time.

Modern Films is no stranger to the streaming arena, striking a deal last year with Amazon Prime Video for the online giant’s VOD service to stream 10 of its female-led films, including The Perfect Candidate, Happy As Lazzaro, Skate Kitchen, 3 Days In Quiberon and more.

The move to release The Perfect Candidate online this month follows similar steps from Universal to release The Invisible Man, The Hunt and Emma online tomorrow, and from BFI Flare, which has moved its festival online to BFI Player after its cancellation this week.