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Haifaa Al-Mansour

Haifaa Al-Mansour

Director and writer, also producer · Born August 10, 1974 (52) · Al Zulfi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Haifaa al-Mansour is the first female filmmaker in Saudi Arabia and is regarded as one of the most significant cinematic figures in the Kingdom. She finished her bachelor's degree in Literature at the American University in Cairo and completed a Master's degree in Directing and Film Studies from the University of Sydney. The success of her three short films, as well as the international acclaim of her award-winning 2005 documentary Women Without Shadows, influenced a whole new wave of Saudi filmmakers and made the issue of opening cinemas in the Kingdom a front-page discussion. Within the Kingdom her work is both praised and vilified for encouraging discussion on topics generally considered too taboo, like tolerance, the dangers of orthodoxy, and the need for Saudis to take a critical look at their traditional and restrictive culture.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 10, 1974 (52)
From
Al Zulfi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Works as
Director and writer, also producer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 12% in 30 days

What are Haifaa Al-Mansour's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
32%
Survival
21%
Bonds
16%
Ideas
11%
Power
10%
Society
9%
Family bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTruth3 titles, browse their movies with this themeTrauma2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 1

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Melancholic
7
Hopeful
4
Dread
2
Bittersweet
2
Other
2

How their films linger

Hopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Haifaa Al-Mansour's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 12 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (6).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Haifaa Al-Mansour's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

19 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Unidentified(2025)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films

  • City on Fire(2023)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all shows

  • Florida Man(2023)

    Show 7 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Mayfair Witches(2023)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 22nd percentile of all shows

  • Tales of the Walking Dead(2022)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows

  • Bosch: Legacy(2022)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

  • Archive 81(2022)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • The Wilds(2020)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all shows

  • The Good Lord Bird(2020)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all shows

  • The Perfect Candidate(2019)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The L Word: Generation Q(2019)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all shows

  • Nappily Ever After(2018)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Wedding Singer's Daughter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · Writer

  • Mary Shelley(2017)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films

  • The Sinner(2017)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Fear the Walking Dead(2015)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all shows

  • Scholarship Students (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Show 30 episodes · Director

  • Wadjda(2012)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Women Without Shadows (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 19 titles from 2005 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Wadjda (2012)

$6.5M worldwide

Highest rated

Wadjda (2012)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

City on Fire (2023)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing19 of 19: 14 only directing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score65thWriting5 of 19: 0 only writing, 5 with another roleProducing1 of 19: 0 only producing, 1 with another role

19 titles, 5 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 5 of them.

By decade

2000s1 · crew2010s8 · crew2020s10 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Haifaa Al-Mansour's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

65thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

62ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up3
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th4
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 16 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved2
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · director, writer

Unidentified (2025)

80th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer

Wadjda (2012)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 68/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Haifaa Al-Mansour's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 35 · mildMedian of all films: 32
Profanity3 titlesmedian 48 · moderateMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 36 · moderateMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 18 · mildMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Haifaa Al-Mansour work with?

People who share at least 2 of Haifaa Al-Mansour's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Brad Niemann shares the most, 2.

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers