Saudi Arabia has submitted its second ever entry into the Oscars.

Saudi director/writer Mahmoud Sabbagh's independent film ‘Barakah yoqabil Barakah’ (Barakah Meets Barakah) will compete in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2017 (Wadjda, by Haifaa al Mansour, was the first film to ever represent the kingdom in 2014).

“This movie is about hope and making change. Even in the most challenging filmmaking conditions, there should be a voice that represents the normal stories of the people in Saudi Arabia,” said Sabbagh.

Sultan Al Bazie, head of the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts and chairman of the nominating committee said that "Mahmoud Sabbagh is a representative of a new generation who will soon be a pioneer in the history of filmmaking in Saudi Arabia."

“This generation, who submitted more than 70 films in the third Saudi Film Festival organized by SASCA last March, are showing a lot of creativity and determination to express themselves and their culture through cinema,” he added. “We feel proud to nominate ‘Barakah Meets Barakah’ as our country’s second entry to the Oscars and we are optimistic that the next years will have more entries from Saudi Arabia.”

The quirky romantic comedy made its international at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

In September, the film will make its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.