The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf)

In Iran, two twelve-year-old sisters have lived all their lives as prisoners of their impoverished father and blind mother. The father reasons that he is protecting his offspring from the world, but the arrival of a social worker sees an attempt made to persuade him that the girls need their freedom. Based on a true story, with the real-life sisters and their father playing themselves, this is the debut feature by 17 year-old Samira Makhmalbaf, daughter of acclaimed filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf.