Queen of the Desert (film)

Queen of the Desert
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWerner Herzog
Screenplay byWerner Herzog
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Zeitlinger
Edited byJoe Bini
Music byKlaus Badelt
Mark Yaeger
Production
companies
Distributed byIFC Films
Release dates
  • February 6, 2015 (2015-02-06) (Berlin)
  • April 14, 2017 (2017-04-14)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$36 million
Box office$2 million

Queen of the Desert is a 2015 American epic biographical drama film written and directed by Werner Herzog and is based on the life of British traveller, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political officer Gertrude Bell. The film follows Bell's life chronologically, from her early twenties until her death. It was Herzog's first feature film in six years after his 2009 film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?

The film stars Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis and Robert Pattinson. After going through many delays and casting problems, production finally took place from December 2013 to March 2014 in Morocco, Jordan and England. It was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival and had its premiere on February 6, 2015. It had a theatrical release in Germany on September 3, 2015.

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics and was also a major financial disappointment, grossing $2 million against a $36 million production budget.