I am probably behind the times, but I just viewed 'Time for Drunken Horses" & watched an interview with the Director. I was impressed by his passion & the fact that he used real people & events, under very difficult circumstances, to tell a tale that could be undersood by all people.

Western or Middle Eastern people should be able to connect with this work to identify with a family in crises.

I don't see any entries regarding Kurdish films. It seems to me to be a great shame that the Kurdish culture has been divided by Nations that have ignored this culture to promote their own. The Kurds have a long history that should be recognised and celebrated by the rest of the World.

Farsi should not rule alone, Kurdish should become a part of the New World Order in the Middle East. Many of us Westerners appreciate the diversity of the Middle Eastern cultures & the fact that these cultures are many thousands of years older than ours. We may not entirely agree with the concepts, but do respect them and are willing to try to reach a compromise on those that are at odds with each other.

Let's hope that the human spirit can prevail, and that we can reach a common ground. All we want is a World where the human spirit & soul can reach it's greatest potential & where nobody is hurt in the process.

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?