Rivalry in the City

During an attack in a caravansary in which all the soldiers die, three people manage to flee. After that they accidentally encounter in different places and help each other out.

Jean Rouch’s camera follows his friend, filmmaker/actor/critic Farrokh Ghaffari, as he walks and talks us through the famous Shah Mosque in Esfehan. While guiding him and answering his questions, Ghaffari makes Rouch discover the beauties of the architecture of the mosque and its impact on the city. Throughout the tour, they discuss Islam’s complex relationship with death, sex and cinema.

Effat tells Mahmoud her life story in order to convince him not to divorce his wife.

Adapted from a story in 1001 Nights, the story concerns the death of an actor and the comical incidents that occur as different people come into possession of, and attempt to dispose of, his body.

Samad burns an ogre's hair which causes an 8000 years old ogre to be released from his prison. The ogre eats a goat and also kidnapped Leila for Samad which causes her father to complain against Samad and sends him to jail but the ogre saves him and takes him to the city. There they have more adventures.

In a remote village in the "land of roses and nightingales" one day surfaces a stranger: William Knox D'Arcy. To enact his plan for exploiting the wealth and the natural resources of this land, he sends after his cronies who descend upon the village in a big balloon. Among them is Cindrella a lady of electrifying beauty who is enlisted to keep the illiterate and lecherous villagers under her charm and make them follow D'Arcy's plans...

"Fanoos Khiyal", with a brief introduction from illustration in Persian literature to mezzanine in Iranian miniatures and folk paintings, introduces the first camcorder in Iran and shows the first available films. After that, with the development of theaters in Iran, the production of movies begins. Iranian filmmakers in this field have a variety of experiences that result in technical advances and a variety of styles.

This film is a product of the National Iranian Oil Company, which can be considered one of the first documentaries in the field of Iranian economy.