Mohsen Makhmalbaf Focus: Salaam Cinema

"A seminal film for Makhmalbaf (it laid the foundations for Moment of Innocence) and a key film for Iran's new cinema." Time Out

Salaam Cinema (Hello Cinema) was originally intended by Makhmalbaf as a film to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of cinema. However, when five thousand people turned up in response to a newspaper advert he had placed in order to find 100 actors, he adapted his plans.

Dozens of men and women were interviewed in front of the camera, and their statements, which are by turns funny and touching, reveal the reality of life in Iran. The film blends fiction and documentary, and through this innovative process, the director enables the audience to see and understand intellectuals, students, children and women, who would not be normally heard or seen.

Salaam Cinema, dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran 1995, 75 mins

Screened from 35 mm print