Directing Actors by Jean Renoir, dir. Gisèle Braunberger, 1968, 22 min.

This short documentary offers a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of Jean Renoir rehearsing a scene from the Rumer Godden novel Breakfast with the Nikolides with actress-director Gisèle Braunberger. He instructs her to begin by reading the script with no emotion attached, as if reading a phone book. The process of developing a fictional character through their intense interaction provides an illuminating insight into Renoir's supportive yet meticulous directorial method and how it shapes the relationship between actor and text, prompting reflection on the fundamental nature of acting. 

Salam Cinema, dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1995, 75 min.

To make a film marking the centenary of cinema, Mohsen Makhmalbaf announced an open casting call that attracted over 5,000 people from all walks of life in Iran – some chasing stardom and others seeking change, validation, or simply an outlet for their innate desire to act. Shrewdly blending improvisation with staged scenarios, Makhmalbaf portrays an authoritarian version of himself, holding the applicants’ fates in his hands. At times, he delegates his control to some contestants only to observe how quickly they adopt domineering behaviour towards others, exposing the shifting dynamics between those with power and those subjected to it. A sharp study of human psychology, Salam Cinema transforms an audition into an unflinching interrogation of authority, ambition, and performance, mirroring the broader institutional structures of Iranian society.