PARIS -- Afghanistan makes movie history next month with a debut feature to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival's director's fortnight, reported AFP.

Director Sedigh Barmak's Osama, about the plight of women under the Taleban, is among 25 feature-length movies selected by the out-of-competition director's fortnight, which runs on the fringes of the mainstream May 14-25 Cannes Festival.

Announcing this year's lineup of new or groundbreaking auteur genre movies, Francois da Silva, who heads the event, told a news conference that the fortnight had scoured 30 nations in search of "new and quality films".

Amid the films from 19 countries ranging from as far afield as Australia to Iran to Norway are two from Africa, A Rarity Nowadays. Like many of the movies at director's fortnight, the screening of Cameroon's The Silence of the Forest will be a world premiere at Cannes and is also a first feature film by directors Didier Ouenagare and Bassek ba Kobhio.

The other African film, From Morocco, is among four first feature films by women showing at the fortnight. Films by women are Dry Eyes by Morocco's Narjiss Nejjar -- also on women -- Watermark by Australia's Georgina Willis, The Island by Italy's Costanza Quatriglio and Lion Cubs by France's Claire Doyon.