A fairy tale that imagines cinema at the center of the cultural universe-a Thousand and One Nights for a new century. A Chaplinesque hero, The Cinematographer, attempts to sell cinema to a pompous Iranian monarch who is against the pernicious influence of movies. Although in danger for his life, The Cinematographer persists, for cinema is the promise of the future. When the Shah sees his first film he falls passionately in love with its star, and so with the medium. This actress in turn finds refuge from his attentions only by jumping back into the camera, where the Shah intends to follow, giving up his kingdom to become...yes, an actor. With clips from a century of Iranian movies blended in, and characters, plot, and time taking leaps that only cinema could justify, this is Makhmalbaf's bow to the inevitable; like the Shah, he gives his all to the medium. The result is part Méliès trick film, part Woody Allen reflexive farce; part Busby Berkeley musical, part Jack Smith bacchanal.