Ten-year-old Wadjda is growing up in the suburbs of Riyadh. She dreams of buying the pretty green bicycle she saw at a local store. But of course she’ll have to forget about racing her neighborhood friend Abdullah: it’s against the law for girls to ride bikes. After Wadjda finds little sympathy from her mother, she decides to earn the money for the bike herself. A contest is to be held at her school in Koran recitation and, after finding out about the prize money, Wadjda becomes a model of piety.… In her debut feature, director Haifaa al Mansour evokes the world of such movies as Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, as well as Offside by Jafar Panahi. This outwardly unassuming tale defies simplification, but the girl’s dream becomes its primary focus – how simple things can become grievously distorted by cultural stereotypes associated with women’s traditional roles in religious society. Indeed, artful Wadjda’s most critical opponent is a woman, her teacher Hussa.