Osama

original title:
Osama
country / year of production:
Afghanistan , The Netherlands , Japan , Ireland / 2003 (x)
original length:
83 min. , color
premiere:
F: 20 May 2003, Cannes Film Festival
genre:
melodrama
based on:
director:
Siddiq Barmak
film script:
Siddiq Barmak
producer:
Siddiq Barmak , Mohsen Makhmalbaf
cinematographer:
Ebrahim Ghafori
editor:
Siddiq Barmak
composer:
Mohammad Reza Darvishi
cast (role):
Marina Golbahari (Osama) , Arif Herati (Espandi) , Zubaida Sahar (Mutter) , Arif Herati , Zubaida Sahar , Marina Golbahari
more:
plot synopsis:
A 12-year-old girl and her mother lose their jobs in a hospital in Afghanistan when the Taliban closes it down.
Furthermore women are no longer allowed to leave the house without a male companion. There is no man left in their family, as the father and the brother have died in the former Afghan wars and so there is noone who can support the women. In an act of despair the mother cuts her daughter's hair and disguises her as a boy called Osama. The girl now lives in fear when she is called to join the school and the military training. A friend, Espandi, tries to help her hiding her true identity.
This story is inspired by a true story.
keywords:
women during wartime , terrorism , youth during wartime , civilians
war:
"War against Terrorism"
literature:
David Denby. "The Current Cinema: Women and the System". In: The New Yorker, 8 March 2004, 92-93.

Galina Breitkreuz. Erst kommt die Angst. Afghanistans mutige Frauen. München: DTV, 2005.
remarks:
Golden Globe 2004: Best Foreign Language Film.

Another 14 awards and 6 nominations.

First feature after the ending of the Taliban-regime in Afghanistan.
availability: