At Five in the Afternoon

Although the focus of this incisive blend of social reality and romantic idealism is on the discrimination still facing women in post-Taliban Afghanistan, 24-year-old Iranian director Samira Makhmalbaf nevertheless highlights the extent to which everyone's beliefs, duties and aspirations are determined by the politico-cultural agendas of the powers that be. The bleak landscape arrestingly captured by Ebrahim Ghafori's camera reinforces the sense of despair that prompts Abdolgani Yousefrazi to keep his family constantly on the move around a combat-scarred Kabul. But the charmingly expressive Agheleh Rezaie's minor acts of defiance - lifting her burka to reveal her face, donning a pair of white high heels - and outspoken self-confidence provide an optimistic challenge to the existing status quo.