Afghanistan hasn’t contributed massively to the global cinematic canon in recent years, a state of affairs not really helped when those raving liberals in the Taliban came to power and burnt all existing prints. That said, and despite the widespread perception that there’s not much in the place except for day and night, there’s no prohibitive reason why Afghan film shouldn’t flourish: its immediate neighbour Iran has a thriving film industry, and recent Afghan history has been more than hair-raising enough to supply material for many a movie.
At any rate, this powerful polemic will be a hard act to follow. Hinting gently that the social position of women under the Taliban’s insane rule was less than a happy one, Osama follows the progress of a young woman whose father has been killed, which leaves orphaned Osama and her widowed mother in immediate danger of starvation, given that under no circumstances will the regime allow women to work. Necessity dictates that Osama take to disguising herself as a boy in order to survive, but her hopelessly high-pitched voice ensures that blending seamlessly into an all-male Koranic school is by no means an easy task.
Neo-realist in style, gritty and somewhat grainy, Osama isn’t a mile removed from the Loach mode of film-making, though both the gender-bending subject matter and the unremittingly bleak narrative make comparisons with Boys Don’ t Cry inevitable. Certainly, it’s rife with suspense, and few recent heroines-in-peril have commanded this much immediate sympathy. It may still be February, but we’d be amazed if there’s a more harrowing, courageous film this year.

83 mins. Cert- IFI members. Opens February 20