The 7-minute film from Suraya AlShehry and Nabila Abuljadayel has been added to the Academy Collection, with its poster and additional creative materials contributed to the Margaret Herrick Library.
Prostrate and Draw Near, the award-winning Saudi animated short directed, produced, and written by mother-daughter filmmaking team Suraya AlShehry and Nabila Abuljadayel, has been added to the Academy Film Archive, with original materials from the film donated to the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California.
The seven-minute 2024 short film, produced by the duo’s Suraya Productions, is based on true events and portrays a unique spiritual moment in an almost empty Holy Mosque of Makkah during the COVID-19 lockdown. The film was inspired by Abuljadayel’s original artwork.
The achievement was announced at a May 18, 2026 ceremony. Materials headed to the Herrick Library include the film’s poster and additional creative elements.
Prostrate and Draw Near has earned 31 international awards and made history as the first Saudi animated short film to be longlisted for Oscar qualification.
The Margaret Herrick Library is widely regarded as one of the world’s most significant film-related research libraries, preserving materials that support the study of cinema, filmmaking history, and artistic achievement across generations.
Abuljadayel and AlShehry, accompanied by creative advisors Kariman Abuljadayel and Salwa Abuljadayel, were welcomed to the library by Meghan Doherty, Senior Manager of Graphic Arts at the Margaret Herrick Library. The team was given a tour of the collection and its celebration of animation history.
“We are deeply proud to see Prostrate and Draw Near become part of such a distinguished collection,” AlShehry said. “To have our film preserved within an institution so widely respected for its commitment to cinema history is truly an honor, and a meaningful milestone for our journey as storytellers.”
“I’m especially moved that the original artwork Prostrate and Draw Near which grew into this film is being recognized and celebrated,” Abuljadayel said. “For any artist, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the message of your art connect with people and travel across borders. It means so much to know that the Academy’s Margaret Herrick Library is welcoming our film into its animation history.”
The duo also notes, “The film marks a milestone for Saudi animation and Arab women-led storytelling in global cinema. Its inclusion in the archive and contribution to the Herrick Library further recognize the film’s cultural significance and preserve its story, artwork, and legacy for future audiences, researchers, and film historians.”
Source: Suraya Productions
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
