Synopsis

At the dawn of the 20th century, a Chaplin- like character known as the Cinematographer introduces the magic of movies to the Iranian court.

The pompous Shah, who has 84 wives and 200 children, is dead-set against the pernicious influence of movies, but at the sight of his first film he falls madly in love with its damsel-in-distress heroine, and resolves to give up his kingdom and become an actor.



Makhmalbaf has described the work as a - 1001 Arabian Nights - of Iranian film history, and he pays fond tribute to his nations cinema by seamlessly and inventively weaving myriad clips from classic Iranian movies into the screwball narrative.

The film won major awards at the Karlovy Vary, Istanbul and Taormina festivals. Once Upon a Time, Cinema almost defies description as the complexity and imagination Makhmalbaf brings to it produce a dazzling visual rollercoaster on which to sweep the viewer along. . . [a memorable] cinematic fairy tale (Sheila Whitaker, London Film Festival).

Cast: Akbar Abdi, Morteza Ahmadi, Dariush Arjmand, Ezzatolah Entezami, Jahangir Forouhar, Mehdi Hashemi, Mohammad Ali Keshavarz, Parvaneh Massoumi, Fatemah Motamed-Arya, Mahaya Petrosian, Moharram Zaynalzadeh