While today Iran is invoked across headlines and images saturated with violence, statistics, and geopolitics, Iranian people have always sought to be seen beyond these frames. The cinema of Iran, despite years of censorship, sanctions, and economic hardship, remains among the best in the world. I’m honoured to curate this selection of short films: some take bold formalistic risks, some are earnestly humorous, or profoundly poetic. They display the humanity of Iranians, their diversity, pains and hopes — whether through intricately designed animation, or set simply in an audition room, a girl arranging a family photo, or the adventures of two friends fleeing their beloved home. While the world fixates on news coming out of Iran, it is more important than ever to understand the breadth of imagination and beauty of this ancient land and its people.