FEATURE FILM DOUBLE - Persian Film Fest
Sunday 25. January at 17:30 - 20:10
FOMO Secret Cinema, Tbilisi
January 24 is Meta Cinema Sunday - proudly presented as part of our extended Persian Film Fest at FOMO Secret Cinema.
FILM 1: SALAAM CINEMA | Mohsen Makhmalbaf | 1995 | Iran | 79 minutes | original Persian audio with English subtitles
SALAAM CINEMA documents an open casting call announced by Mohsen Makhmalbaf in Tehran to celebrate the centenary of cinema. Thousands of people arrive, overwhelming the space and each other, all hoping to be chosen. What begins as a simple audition quickly turns into a confrontation between filmmaker and public. Makhmalbaf interviews, provokes, and tests participants, blurring the line between performance and reality.
The film belongs to the second wave of the Persian New Wave, when Iranian filmmakers were experimenting openly with self-reflexive cinema and questioning their own authority. SALAAM CINEMA exposes the power imbalance between director and subject, and between cinema and audience. At times playful, at times uncomfortable, it asks who cinema belongs to and what people are willing to endure for their proverbial 15 minutes of fame.
The film was controversial on release, with critics accusing Makhmalbaf of manipulation. Others defended it as an honest portrait of desire, frustration, and spectacle in post-revolutionary Iran. Today it is widely seen as a key meta-cinematic work that captures a society eager to be seen, heard, and represented under tight cultural control.
FILM 2: CINEMA CINEMA | Mani Petgar | 1997 | Iran | 70 minutes | original Persian audio with English subtitles
CINEMA CINEMA acts as both a response to and a reflection on SALAAM CINEMA. Where Makhmalbaf placed himself at the center of the frame, Mani Petgar turns the camera toward the audience and the act of spectatorship itself. The film assembles interviews, reactions, and fragments that explore how ordinary Iranians understand cinema, fame, and representation.
The film belongs to the second wave of the Persian New Wave and continues the period’s fascination with meta-cinema. CINEMA CINEMA shifts attention away from the filmmaker as authority and instead examines how cinema functions as a social mirror. It captures voices that are usually excluded from cultural narratives and allows them to reflect on what cinema promises and what it withholds.
Less confrontational than SALAAM CINEMA, the film is quieter and more observational. Together, the two films form an unintended dialogue about authorship, control, and participation. CINEMA CINEMA is valued for restoring balance, showing that cinema is not only made by directors, but also completed by those who watch, interpret, and respond.
There will be a 10-minute intermission between the two features.
Location: FOMO Secret Cinema, Bazari Orbeliani, Tbilisi. A five minute walk from Liberty Square metro
How to find FOMO: Enter the Bazari via Atoneli St above Carrefour and take the stairs on your left behind the jewellery stand. One flight up. Video instructions here
FOMO Secret Cinema • Bazari Orbeliani, 0102 Tbilisi, Georgia
