A SELECTION of films hidden from the Taliban will be shown this week in Edinburgh as part of the UK's first ever celebration of Afghan culture.

Reel Afghanistan began life after a group from social action centre Edinburgh University Settlement (EUS) visited Kabul in 2006 with the view to setting up a film festival there. Upon their return, according to Dan Gorman, one of the festival co-ordinators, they saw a need to do something similar in Scotland.

"We want to show another side to Afghanistan, as opposed to the image of bombs, depression and despair," said Gorman. "So we wanted to give people a wider opinion of Afghanistan and the cultural history there."

When the Taliban ransacked Afghanistan's national film archives, some canny employees hid reels under floorboards and behind false walls. These films will be shown as part of Reel Afghanistan. The staff of Reel Afghanistan have translated and subtitled the movies themselves. The festival opens on Thursday and runs until March 8. Screenings are at the Filmhouse and Cameo cinemas and include Osama, In This World, and The Beauty Academy Of Kabul.

The festival also celebrates another Afghan art form banned by the Taliban: music. A concert featuring two bands, Kharabat and Qawali Sham Sufi, takes place next Sunday at the Queen's Hall.

Gorman insisted that the festival was not overtly a riposte to the war on terrorism: "It's a celebration of the resilience of the arts. These films and music were banned but still survived."

Reel Afghanistan is sponsored by the British Council, Scottish Screen and EUS.