Watching The Night It Rained (An Shab Ke Baran Amad) (1967, 35 mins) is an exhilarating experience. Not only is it one of the most provocative pieces of work ever put on celluloid, but it represents ground-zero in the playful intellectual tradition of docu-fiction later developed by directors such as Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf. A camera crew comes to Gorgon to interview a boy who is said to have averted a catastrophic train crash, but the truth surrounding this heroic act seems to be in question. More straightforward are two documentaries commissioned by The Women's Institute: The Red District (a.k.a. The Fortress / Qaleh) (1966, 18 mins) and Women's Prison (1965, 12 mins). The former depicts the tragic lives of prostitutes from Tehran's Red Light district while the latter explores life behind bars for women and their children. Shirdel studied filmmaking in Italy and is considered an expert on Italian cinema, particularly Neorealism. Please note: These rare pre-Revolution films are not subtitled in English (although The Night It Rained has French subtitles). English dialogue lists will be made available to non-Farsi speakers.-Alissa Simon