Iranian filmmakers at home and in exile are breaking free from restrictions - imposed both by their repressive government and by audience expectations - to form a creative wave that is increasingly winning attention internationally.
The 2011 best foreign-language-film Oscar for Asghar Farhadi's placed the spotlight on what was coming out of the Islamic republic. But those in the film industry emphasise that other notable productions go well beyond regime-approved portrayals of daily Iranian life.
"Iran has strong art and cinema" that will thrive no matter the adversity, says exiled Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, whose latest movie, , tells the story of a Central Asian republic's dictator toppled in a revolution and running for his life, as viewed by his young grandson.
"There is hope for this cinema, more than for the life of the dictatorship in Iran. There is hope that one day we don't have this regime, but we will have a good history of Iranian cinema."
by Jafar Panahi, a dissident director living in Tehran who is defying a government ban on making movies for 20 years, is the latest big success. His film, smuggled out of Iran, took top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival last month.
and are in the Hong Kong International Film Festival screening programme.
