DUBAI: Saudi actress Adwa Bader, who stars in feature film “Naga” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, received the Share Her Journey Fellowship and Award at the festival this year.
“Naga,” a satirical madcap thriller from Saudi filmmaker Meshal Al-Jaser, follows the story of a young woman, Sarah (played by Bader), who is stranded in the desert and races against time to get home before a curfew imposed by her strict father.
Talking about the award, Los Angeles-based Bader — who was also recognized as a Rising Star at TIFF 2023 — took to Instagram and wrote: “I’m super grateful to the incredible genius @meshalaljaser and the cast and crew of @nagathemovie. Without you, we wouldn’t be here today. I'm thankful to my incredible support system who fueled me through this process. I am grateful for @tiff_net and to be one of the #tiffrisingstars TIFF Rising Stars of 2023 and to our mentors throughout the program, thankful to receive the #tiff23 TIFF Share her Journey Fellowship and Award, and I’m grateful to all the beautiful people I’ve met along the way. Thank you.”
In “Naga,” Bader’s Sarah is given a strict curfew by her conservative father for an approved shopping trip, and she knows that she must meet his expectations by any means necessary.
Especially since Sarah’s shopping plans are actually subterfuge for a secret date with Saad, a young suitor who just scored her an invitation to an underground party in the desert.
The deception goes quickly awry, and Sarah gets stranded miles away from home. Dodging a parade of arrogant and creepy men, not to mention a bloodthirsty, rabid camel, Sarah sets out on a wild adventure through distinct spheres of contemporary Saudi society in a desperate race against a ticking clock.
“Naga” marks filmmaker Al-Jaser’s latest work following the absurdist sci-fi “Arabian Alien.” In 2020, the Saudi writer-director’s film competed in the Sundance Film Festival’s Best Short Film category.
TIFF programmer Peter Kuplowsky said about “Naga”: “I am often looking for films that rattle an audience within their opening minutes, and more than any other title in my selection this year, ‘Naga’ just blew me away with its shocking prologue. It perfectly set the stakes of the story, and as it unfolded I only became more and more impressed with how (director) Meshal was navigating so many potent and provocative themes, and never at the sacrifice of character or momentum.”
