A star swims to the surface in a sea of political sharks Floating free: George Gittoes teaches actor Arshad Khan how to swim. For actor Arshad Khan, arriving in Sydney has been a plunge into the deep end - in more ways than one. The rising Pashtun star is learning to speak English and hoping to launch his career in the Australian film industry. He has also taken his first swimming lesson, a brave move for someone who has never seen the ocean. He has the charisma of a tiny Michael Jackson. Mr Khan, who grew up in the "crucible of terror," the tribal region bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, was discovered by Australian filmmaker George Gittoes and cabaret performer Hellen Rose, when they were casting for their latest documentary Love City Jalalabad. The film, which focuses on the conservative Pashtun community, premiered at the Sydney Film Festival on June 7. "The film industry in that area is still threatened by the Taliban," said Mr Gittoes, who has travelled to countless war-ravaged countries, from Rwanda to Bosnia, making films about the "things that are wrong with the world." Mr Gittoes, who co-founded the Yellow House artists' co-operative in Potts Point in 1970, set up the Jalalabad Yellow House three years ago to teach film and television to the local community. He has since made 11 Pashtun-language dramas and two television series. For Love City Jalalabad, Mr Gittoes cast Peshawar local Mr Khan in the leading role. He just glows with magic. Arshad is from an extremely poor background and his parents have very little. But he's obviously a star; he has the charisma of a tiny Michael Jackson. At three-and-a-half feet tall, Mr Khan is a little person. The 26-year-old, who is illiterate in his native language, has learnt to read English at a junior level. "He's extremely bright and has rapidly become famous in Pakistan," Mr Gittoes said. Mr Gittoes and Ms Rose have taken him swimming for the first time. "He's never swum before but has tremendous aptitude," Mr Gittoes said. He loves Australia. He wants to come and spend a lot more time here. Mr Khan is in Australia on a tourist visa and must return to Peshawar. But the hope is he will quickly return, with a plan to go to acting school, find a film agent and continue English lessons. There is no threat and no danger here. He's living with constant threat when he's at home in Peshawar," Mr Gittoes said.