At Five in the Afternoon

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At Five in the Afternoon
Directed by	Samira Makhmalbaf
Written by	Mohsen Makhmalbaf Samira Makhmalbaf
Starring	Agheleh Rezaie
Release date(s)	16 May 2003 (Cannes) 16 April 2004 (UK)
Running time	105 min.
Country	Iran/France
Language	Dari Persian
IMDb profile

At Five in the Afternoon (Persian: Panj é asr) is a 2003 film by Iranian writer-director Samira Makhmalbaf. It tells the story of an ambitious young woman trying to gain an education in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban. The title comes from a Federico García Lorca poem and is a tale of flourishing against the odds.

At Five in the Afternoon was the first film to be shot in Kabul after the NATO invasion. It was an international co-production between the Iranian company Makhmalbaf Productions and the French companies Bac Films and Wild Bunch.

The film premiered at Cannes in 2003 and was awarded the Jury Prize.

Samira's 14-year old sister Hana Makhmalbaf made a documentary about the making of the film, entitled Joy of Madness (Lezate divanegi). It documents Samira's trials and tribulations whilst trying to persuade people in Kabul to take part in her film. As a teenager, Hana was able to amass a lot of digital video footage unnoticed.