Hi, this is a great discussion to have. It's not well-known that Iran's cultural power is increasingly in it's filmmaking. It should be studied in film schools (if only film school would get their act together and demand to be taken seriously).

I have seen a beautiful Iranian film called _The Circle_. I have just rented two others, _Leila_ and _Kandahar_.

Hi Hisam, I really liked Border Cafe as well. I especially admired how adept Reyhan was at tending to the various obstacles that stood in her way. She never got overcome with emotion even in situations that were maddening. I think it was because of her calm and persistence that she was able to get as far as she did and I found her journey to be quite inspiring. Did you also see Beautiful City?

I enjoyed Border cafe. I also like films from east Europe because I feel they have lots to tell about their last 50 years or so.

These days Iran is front page news. But what is not frequently reported is
that it is a center of great film-making, and this year Cinemondo featured
two stellar examples, "Border Café" and "Beautiful City." There are so many
under-represented sources of great cinema-- what are your favorites?