Director, 14, 'too young' to go to her own premiere

She was old enough to go to Kabul, and shoot a film there, but 14-year-old Hana Makhmalbaf was not old enough to see it open Critics' Week at the Venice Film Festival.

The organisers of the festival had until yesterday refused to allow the latest in a line of Iranian film prodigies, the daughter of the renowned director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, to attend her own premiere because she was too young.

Her documentary, Joy of Madness, shows how her sister, Samira, 23, cast her feature, Five in the Afternoon, in the Afghan capital.

Samira's film was the first to be shot there after the Taliban's defeat and used amateurs plucked from the ruins of the city. Hana's documentary shows how those chosen for it survived in often abject conditions.

The authorities relented yesterday and said they would give Hana a pass, although last night it had yet to materialise.

Hana has become the youngest director to be honoured by the big three international festivals.