It is 2005. You are in the back of the car with your boyfriend, and Missy Elliot’s “Get Your Freak On” is playing in the background. It is an electrifying moment, an intimate date between romantic teenagers… until a conspicuous cough from the front seat reminds you that your disapproving chauffeur is also present at this date. This was the norm for clandestine dating in Saudi Arabia, and “Me & Aydarous” captures a formative moment in my own life as the film explores this unusual agreement (and disagreement) between a young woman and her driver.

Given their differences spanning class, age, gender, and beliefs, I
was drawn to the power dynamic between these two characters that is in flux throughout the film. With this film I wanted to encapsulate the absurdity of normalized dating behavior in a conservative environment, as well as explore the multilayered—beautiful, awkward, and unconventional—relationship between these two characters in this specific set of circumstances.

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- Sara Balghonaim