Cinema Without Borders

Last night, after many years, I watched Bashu, the Little Stranger again. It felt as though I were seeing it for the very first time—the same pounding heart, the same sense of attachment to cinema, amidst the wave of an audience. This is a film that never expires; it remains a luminous testament in Iranian cinema: a deeply human, emotional, anti-war narrative, created in the very midst of war....

Bashu, the Little Stranger: A Symbol of National Solidarity Last night, after many years, I watched Bashu, the Little Stranger again. It felt as though I were seeing it for the very first time—the same pounding heart, the same sense of attachment to cinema,…

At first glance, Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar، seems to tell a straightforward story: seven passengers caught in the stillness of a night journey. Yet beneath this simple surface lies a powerful and unsettling exploration of social prejudice and the machinery of “othering.” When the passengers swiftly assume that the unidentified co**se belongs to an Afghan, the assumption is not a casual remark—it becomes the mechanism by which they establish a sense of superiority and even justify taking the victim’s possessions....

Cause of Death: Unknown, Iran’s Oscar selection At first glance, Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar، seems to tell a straightforward story: seven passengers caught in the stillness of a night journey. Yet beneath this simple surface lies a …

Rodrigo García’s Ten Tiny Love Stories is one of those rare cinematic experiments that proves how much can be conveyed with the simplest of means when guided by a filmmaker with sensitivity and courage. Built entirely around a series of monologues, each performed by a different woman, the film strips away the trappings of conventional narrative—no elaborate sets, no flashy editing, no multi-strand plot mechanics—to focus instead on the naked intimacy of confession....

Ten Tiny Love Stories, a symphony of emotions Rodrigo García’s Ten Tiny Love Stories is one of those rare cinematic experiments that proves how much can be conveyed with the simplest of means when guided by a filmmaker with sensitivity and cou…