‘My Driver and I’ Reveals Saudi Arabia’s 1980s, ’90s Social Fabric and Director Ahd Kamel’s ‘Soul,’ Say Lead Actors
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent It’s been a long ride to get Saudi multi-hyphenate Ahd Kamel‘s directorial debut “My Driver and I” – which is premiering at the Red Sea Film Festival – onto the big screen.
Saudi actors Roula Dakheelallah and Mustafa Shehata, who co-star in the film, joined Variety’s Alex Ritman at the Variety Lounge at Red Sea to speak about the drama, which provides a rare glimpse of Saudi society and social fabric in Jeddah during the 1980s and ’90s.
The film is inspired by Ahd Kamel’s real-life story, noted Dakheelallah, who plays Ahd’s alter-ego Salma, who grew up in a wealthy Jeddah family. “She had a driver, whose name was Gamar, and he drove her around everywhere, and he knew every single detail about her life,” she said.
And then, years went by, and they went their separate ways. Ahd traveled abroad, including to New York, where she studied film.
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