14 Year Old Girl Can’t Watch Her Own Film

Girl Director Almost Barred from Own Film at Venice

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – The 14-year-old Iranian girl, Hana Makhmalbaf, whose first feature film debuted at the 60th Venice Film Festival Thursday, was almost barred from attending her own premiere.

Under Italian law, minors cannot see movies which have no rating — even if they directed them.

But organizers of the Venice competition obtained last-minute permission to let Makhmalbaf, who comes from Iran’s leading filmmaking family, hit the red carpet at the Lido’s Palazzo del Cinema and watch the official screening.

“It makes me laugh considering I’ve been going to theCannes festival since I was about three,” Makhmalbaf told a news conference.

Makhmalbaf’s 73-minute documentary “Joy of Madness” is one of 145 films screening at the Venice Film Festival. It is competing for the award for best debut film.

Organizers said they had never had to deal with the age limit issue before since Makhmalbaf is the youngest director to turn up on the Lido.

“The world should be seen from various points of view — from a little girl’s to a grown man’s,” she said.

Her sister, Samira, is also a critically acclaimed young director. They inherited a passion for film from their director-writer father, Mohsen.

Makhmalbaf’s film follows her sister in Afghanistan as she shoots “At Five In The Afternoon.” The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes this year for her portrayal of life in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.

But critics Thursday described the documentary as much more than just about the making of a film. She also took the opportunity to talk to Afghanis.

“I just showed the pain of the people of Afghanistan,” the young director said, shyly adjusting her loose, black headcover.

“The first days when I saw women all covered up, I imagined no one was under there…But I slowly discovered they were people and learned about them on different levels.”

Makhmalbaf’s first short film was shown at the Locarno film festival when she was a mere eight years old.

“Joy of Madness” is just one of a string of movies being screened at the Lido which tackle Islam and social repression in Muslim countries.