Iranian cinema in recent years puts most countries to shame.Abbas Kiarostami is the director most admired by critics-try "Close-up","Through the Olive Trees" for starters(several others are excellent,quietly poetic)."The White Balloon",by Jafar Panahi is a little charmer.Try also his "The Circle".Mohsen Makhmalbaf is another important director.Of his films i've seen ,i'd personally recommend "Gabbeh" for its beautiful colours and interesting scenery,though it's not to all tastes.His daughter Samira has made 2 excellent features,while still very young:"The Apple" and "Blackboards".Farmanara ("Prince Ehtejab"etc),Baiza'i("Bashu the Little Stranger"etc) and Mehrjui("The Cow",1968,a landmark) are probably the other most admired Iranian film-makers,but most of the films shown in the west over the past decade or so are well worth seeing.