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Waiting for Raif

En attendant Raif
Luc Côté and Patricio Henriquez
2022 | 150 min
Documentary
Arabic, French, English

Awards and Festivals

  • Official SelectionFestival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda (2022)

  • Official SelectionRendez-vous Québec Cinéma (2023)

  • Official SelectionVictoria Film Festival, British Columbia (2023)

Trailer


Poster


LONG SYNOPSIS


SHORT SYNOPSIS


ONE-LINER


Interview with Luc Côté and Patricio Henriquez

Excerpts

50th Vigil with David Goudreault


Ensaf “My face is my identity”


Doudi



Images


Ensaf Haidar accepts the Sakharov Prize on behalf of her husband, Raif Badawi. The prize is awarded by the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France.

Ensaf Haidar with her three children, Najwa, Tirad (Doudi) and Miriyam Badawi in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

A vigil in support of Raif Badawi at city hall in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Najwa, Tirad (Doudi) and Miriyam Badawi, who are hoping to be reunited with their father in Canada.

Ensaf Haidar.

Portrait of Raif Badawi by Quebec artist Louis Robichaud.

Ensaf Haidar receives the Golden Victoria, awarded by the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ).

Ensaf Haidar and her three children, Najwa, Tirad (Doudi) and Miriyam Badawi, meet the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.

Tirad (Doudi) Badawi.

Ensaf Haidar and her three children, Najwa, Tirad (Doudi) and Miriyam Badawi, at their Canadian citizenship ceremony.

Ensaf Haidar by a window at the former Winter Prison, in Sherbrooke. Photo by Caroline Custeau.

A vigil in support of Raif Badawi in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Photo by Caroline Custeau.

Ensaf Haidar.

Ensaf Haidar campaigning in Belgium for the release of her husband, Raif Badawi.

Ensaf Haidar accepts the Sakharov Prize on behalf of her husband, Raif Badawi. The prize is awarded by the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France.

Team


Luc Côté
Director and Producer (Macumba Média)


Photo




Patricio Henriquez
Director and Producer (Macumba Média)


Photo




Colette Loumède
Producer and Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : NFB




Nathalie Cloutier
Executive Producer


Photo
Photo : Valérie Sangin



Credits

A film produced, written and directed by
Luc Côté
Patricio Henriquez

Produced by
Colette Loumède (NFB)

Editing
Andrea Henriquez

With
Ensaf Haidar
Najwa Badawi
Tirad (Doudi) Badawi
Miriyam Badawi
Katya Arbour
Caroline Custeau
Suzanne Cayouette
Monia D’Amours
Mireille Elchacar
Sandra Hallé
Jane Hospes
Sylvie Joubert
Yenny López
Richard-Gilles Perreault
The citizens of the City of Sherbrooke, Quebec

Images
François Beauchemin
Joël Bertomeu
Luc Côté
Bruno Fraser
Patricio Henriquez
Étienne Roussy

Location Sound
Tiago McNicoll-Castro-Lopes
Nils Caneele
Luc Côté
Julien Fréchette
Mélanie Gauthier
Patricio Henriquez

Research
Pascale Bilodeau
Luc Côté
Patricio Henriquez
Friederike Venus (Berlin)

Research – Archives
Nancy Marcotte

Graphic Design
Mélanie Bouchard (NFB)
Alain Ostiguy (NFB)

Online Editing and Colourization
Yannick Carrier (NFB)

Original Music
and Musical Direction
Robert Marcel Lepage

Assisted by
Olivier Béliveau
Samuel Desrosiers
Pierre-Yves Martel
Andrew Wells-Oberegger

Musicians
Olivier Béliveau – Guitar, Percussion
Guillaume Bourque – Bass clarinet
Samuel Desrosiers – Guitars, Bass
Sheila Hannigan – Cello
René Lussier – Guitars
Pierre-Yves Martel – Treble viol, Lap steel guitar
Marilène Provencher-Leduc – Flute
Andrew Wells-Oberegger – Oud and percussion

Foley
Stéphane Cadotte

Foley Recording
Geoffrey Mitchell (NFB)

Sound Design and Editing
Claude Langlois

Re-recording
Jean Paul Vialard (NFB)

Produced with the financial participation of
Société de développement des entreprises culturelles – Québec
Film and Television Tax Credit – Québec
Rogers Documentary Fund
Telefilm  Canada
Canada Media Fund 

Produced with the collaboration of
Radio-Canada

Julia Lauzon
Director, Informational Documentaries

Marjolaine Mineau
Senior Manager, Informational Documentaries

Additional Images
Marc Aderghal
Tirad (Doudi) Badawi
Rafaël Barnwell
Rénald Bellemare
Maxime Côté
Sylvestre Guidi
Christian Paré

Production Assistants
Raphaël Fraser
Sarah-Ève Martin

Editing Assistants
Lea Henriquez
Vincent Lacombat

Technical Support – Editing
Marie-Josée Gourde (NFB)
Pierre Dupont (NFB)
Isabelle Painchaud (NFB)
Patrick Trahan (NFB)

Translation
Meriem Achour Bouakkaz (Arabic)
Eli Jean Tahchi (Arabic)
Jennifer Hille (German)

Translation and Subtitling
Trans & Sub Coop

Interpreter
Mireille Elchacar (Arabic)

Technical Director
Denis Boisvert

Production Manager
Koussay Hamzeh

Administrator
John Chretien

Legal Advisor
David Langis
Lussier & Khouzam

Special thanks to
Evelyne Abitbol
Ali Adubisi
Georges Amar
Jérémie Battaglia
Bachir Bensaddek
Denis Boisvert
Laurence Branchereau
Kristen Breitweiser
David Carl
Paul Carvalho
Steven Chase
Pierre Conessa
Michel Corriveau
Jocelyn Coulon
Kamel Daoud
Ronald J. Deibert
Serge Denis
Halima Elkhatabi
Michel Giroux
Michel Gretry
Michel Grou
Denis Jacqmin
Grégory Lassus-Debat
Colette Lelièvre
Vincent Letellier
Roxane Loumède
Mira Mailhot
Maya May
Luc Mampaey
André Pâquet
Jean Pelletier
Carole Poliquin
Anne Sainte-Marie
Michel St-Pierre
Oana Suteu Khintirian
Daniel Turp
Béatrice Vaugrante
Amnesty International Canada (French)
Avaaz – The World in Action
Lawyers Without Borders Canada
Citizen Lab
Group for Research and Information on Peace and Security (GRIP)
La Tribune
Pour les droits des femmes du Québec
The Globe and Mail

Thanks to
Élyes Ammar
Orlando Arriagada
Robert Audet
Claude Bastien
Djemila Benhabib
Danielle Bérard
Sophie Bissonnette
André Caron
Hugues Chaker
Yanik Cloutier
Jean Côté
Yvon Côté
Irwin Cotler
Sylvie Deschamps
Paule Dion
Éli Dubois
Marie-Claude Dupois
Gabrielle Dupont
Olivier Dulude
Talal Elmir
Lucie Fiset
Jonathan Fournier
Joé Grantham-Charbonneau
Léa Grantham-Charbonneau
Sandrine Guillot
Amélie Hardy
Heiko Hei
Gabriel Henriquez
Laura Isabelle
Maude Lambert
Francine Landry
Abraham Lifshitz
Audrey Nantel-Gagnon
Ximena Ortiz
Pascal Paradis
Jocelyne Perrier
Geneviève Rochette
Steve Roy
Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny
Nina Scholz
Christoph Scott
Brandon Silver
José St-Jacques
Yanic St-Jacques
Nancie Tanguay
Marie-Pierre Tardif
Karen Tessel
Carmen Torres
Mireille Tremblay
All the people who participated in the 376 vigils held in the City of Sherbrooke
ArchAngel Films

École primaire Larocque
École secondaire de la Montée
École de conduite ConduiPro Estrie
Provigo Larouche Fleurimont – Sherbrooke
Restaurant Le sultan – Sherbrooke
Séminaire de Sherbrooke

Excerpt from the slam poem SALUT RAIF
with the kind permission of David Goudreault

Portraits of Raif appear in the film
with the kind permission of the artist,
Louis Robichaud

Visual Archives
AFP
Amnesty International
Bell Media
Council on Foreign Relations
Marcel Dufour
Europe 1
France Médias Monde
Getty Images
Global News
The Canadian Press
Les Films Adobe Inc.
Les Prix de la laïcité
London Free Press, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
Middle East News
North Superior Publishing Inc. / Scott Alan Sumner
Office of Video – U.S. Department of State
Pond5
Screenocean / Reuters
Audiovisual services of the European Parliament (Strasbourg)
Société Radio-Canada
Tout le monde en parle / La Clique du Plateau /
Radio-Canada / Ardisson & Lumières France
Jan van Bwekkum
VDZ Publishers’ Night 17, Berlin

Photo Archives
Ensaf Haidar, private collection
Lagardère Media News

The following archival clips have been included in this film
based on the principle of fair dealing.

The filmmakers would like to acknowledge the courageous people who secretly filmed
some of the sequences included in this documentary.

“Briman-Djeddah Prison” / YouTube
“Flogging of Raif Badawi” / YouTube
“Public Hangings” / YouTube
“Beheading in Mecca” / LiveLeak – YouTube
“Canadian Light Armoured Vehicles” / YouTube
“Cockerill 3000 Series Turrets and Cannons” Promotional Video / YouTube
“Interview with Raif Badawi’s Father” / YouTube
“Interview with Samar Badawi” / World Talks – YouTube
“Saudi Arabian Women Allowed to Drive” / Arab News – YouTube
“Canadian Military Vehicles in Yemen” / Yemen Wrath – YouTube

NFB Team

Marketing Manager
François Jacques

Marketing Coordinator
Émilie Ryan

Administrator
Sia Koukoulas

Studio Coordinators
Gabrielle Dupont
Stéphanie Lazure

Senior Production Coordinators
Joëlle Lapointe
Chinda Phommarinh

Technical Coordinators
Mira Mailhot
Esther Viragh

Line Producer
Mélanie Lasnier

Executive Producers
Colette Loumède
Nathalie Cloutier
Luc Côté
Patricio Henriquez

Produced by
Macumba média II

In co-production with
the National Film Board of Canada

nfb.ca

Waiting for Raif
© 2022 Macumba média II inc. and the National Film Board of Canada



Press Relations

  • About the NFB

    Founded in 1939, the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is a one-of-a-kind producer, co-producer and distributor of distinctive, engaging, relevant and innovative documentary and animated films. As a talent incubator, it is one of the world’s leading creative centres. The NFB has enabled Canadians to tell and hear each other’s stories for over eight decades, and its films are a reliable and accessible educational resource. The NFB is also recognized around the world for its expertise in preservation and conservation, and for its rich and vibrant collection of works, which form a pillar of Canada’s cultural heritage. To date, the NFB has produced more than 14,000 works, 6,500 of which can be streamed free of charge at nfb.ca. The NFB and its productions and co-productions have earned over 7,000 awards, including 11 Oscars and an Honorary Academy Award for overall excellence in cinema.