Jolie spotlights Afghan girls' plight

First, Angelina Jolie directed a film about the effect of war on a young girl in Cambodia, 'First They Killed my Father'.Now she has produced a film set in Afghanistan, saying at the premiere: "There are few countries in the world where it's harder to be a young girl."

The Breadwinner, made by Irish film-maker Nora Twomey, is an animation written, produced and directed by women, and adapted from the Canadian bestseller by author Deborah Ellis. It features the voice of teenage Canadian actor Saara Chaudry as Parvana, an 11-year-old growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.

When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana disguises herself as a boy to save her mother and sisters from starvation, as women are unable to leave their house without a male relative.

Although it's a story for children, it doesn't disguise the details of life under the Taliban - including what happens when a woman is caught in the street without a burka.

After its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the movie was nominated for Best Animation at this year's Oscars, with Jolie, its executive producer, urging a younger generation attending the festival to promote tolerance by "getting to know people in your neighborhood who have different backgrounds". "Diversity is the most wonderful part of our world," she said.

-BBC