After the brutal Taliban regime bans women from working and forbids them to leave their homes without a male escort, a 12-year-old girl and her mother find themselves on the brink of starvation. With nowhere left to turn, the mother disguises her daughter as a boy. Now called Osama, the young girl embarks on a terrifying and confusing journey, as she tries to keep the Taliban from discovering her true identity.

The first Afghan film to be made since the end of the Taliban regime, OSAMA is a poetic portrayal of the struggle to survive during that oppressive period. A clear tribute to the strength and perseverance of the women of Afghanistan, OSAMA tells the true story of one family--all women--who had no other choice than to put their lives in danger in order to live under seemingly impossible conditions. With women forbidden from working or even showing their faces in public, one family disguises their 12-year-old daughter as a boy and sends her to work in a local shop. The story is based on a newspaper article that director-writer Siddiq Barmak read while exiled in Pakistan during the Taliban regime. Barmak decided to write a script based on the article, and called upon popular Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (KANDAHAR) to produce the film, using a cast of non-actors. The main character in the film calls herself Osama, which explains the title--it is not a reference to Osama bin Laden. Osama's job eventually leads her to be recruited into a Taliban-controlled boys school and her identity is nearly revealed as she undergoes questioning by her peers and the mullahs who run the school. A powerful film with beautiful photography and an important historical-political message, OSAMA is not to be missed.