Film fans.

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Film buffs are invited to sit back and indulge in the world of 'New Wave' Iranian cinema with the 'Shahre Farang - Contemporary Iranian Films' series, which runs every Saturday until July 5 at The Third Line Gallery. This series draws its title, Shahre Farang, from the name of a unique version of travelling picture boxes that were commonly used across the Middle East in the early 1900s.

The Saturday films at the Third Line will showcase the work of many directors, such as the legendary Abbas Kiarostami - a leader of the second generation of Iranian 'New Wave' cinema, to Mohsen Makhmalbaf - founder of The Makhmalbaf Film School, to younger filmmakers such as the Iranian-Kurdish Bahman Ghobadi and groundbreaking female director Samira Makhmalbaf. All these critically acclaimed works exemplify 'New Wave' cinema today, and will be discussed at post screening analysis sessions at the Third Line.

The gallery says that the point of the movie nights is to help viewers further their understanding of Iranian films, "Some viewers may come to revisit familiar favourites, while others might be getting to know Iranian films for the first time," a Third Line spokesperson says.E[sz] Contemporary Iranian cinema is especially noted for its striking combinations of poetry and realism, and these films play between the boundary of fiction and reality, while at the same time employing a distinctive Iranian cinematic language.

All films are in Farsi or Kurdish with English subtitles. In bringing these films to the public, The Third Line Gallery seeks to highlight aspects of the life and culture of the region. Expect many more screenings of documentary and feature films from across the Middle East.

Screenings are free of charge and doors open at 7pm, with films starting promptly at 7.30pm. Seats are limited and on a strict advance RSVP only basis so that everybody can be accommodated comfortably and safely. Please book seats at events@thethethirdline.com or call 04 341 1367.

Iranian films on the menu

Saturday, June 21 - 'Salam Cinema' (1995)

Director Dir Mohsen Makhmalbaf holds a casting call for 100 actors to appear in his next film. Five thousand people show up, some desperate, some bewildered and some self-absorbed. Alternately cruel and cajoling, he is relentless in his pursuit of the truth of acting. Can they act?

Saturday, June 28 - 'Time for drunken horses' (2000) (Zamani Baray[R] Masti Asbha)

A young Kurdish family is trying to survive after the death of their parents and attempting to raise funds for a younger handicapped sibling. From collecting money by smuggling truck tyres with a group of Kurdish villagers near the Iran-Iraq border to skirmishes with Iranian soldiers, this film is both poetic and challenging.

Saturday, July 5 - 'Blackboards' (2000) (Takht[R] Siah)

Set in the mountain passes of Iranian Kurdistan, near the border of Iraq, during the Iran/Iraq war, 'Blackboards' follows the lives of itinerant Kurdish teachers who carry blackboards on their backs looking for students. One falls in with a group of old men looking for their bombed-out village, while another joins a dozen pre-teen boys smuggling contraband across the border. In this dangerous, unsteady context, is there a role for a teacher? And is there hope?

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