Joy of Madness

Not quite pitched on the heroic-tragic scale of behind-the-scenes unveilings like Burden of Dreams or Hearts of Darkness, the youngest Makhmalbaf's documentary on the casting process for her sister Samira's film At Five in the Afternoon implicitly draws a fine line: between a well-intentioned desire to place the contemporary plight of the Afghan people on a global stage, and sheer, blind, barrelling ambition. A director in search of a lead actress, the queenly, indomitable Samira is the tempestuous star of Joy of Madness - sometimes batting her lashes like a silent screen coquette, more often shouting and jabbing fingers to get her way. JWin.