This event, which is in its 36th circuit this year, is designed to open up the eyes of event goers and people around the world through artists who are thought to be ahead of their time within their respected industries. Artists thoughtfully craft works which bring lookers and watchers into their forward thinking world while bringing them into contact with non-western cultures, the focus this year being on Middle Eastern creations. The Autumn Festival works hard to show the world new, commissioned and highly experimental works from these artists so don’t convey a restricted statement of mind but rather come equipped with an open mind and a willingness to travel the day away and visit as many of these fantastic exhibits as possible, the entire autumn long.

In Iran, Tazieh performances are occasions for huge popular gatherings. It was inevitable that Abbas Kiarostami, a filmmaker deeply connected to the land and culture of Iran, would one day be captivated by this unique form of tragedy in the Muslim world. In addition to the retrospective of his films at the Centre Pompidou, Kiarostami has created a staged video installation in which spectators can freely associate and interpret three different angles projected simultaneously onto three screens.

Using irreverence and pretence, Rabih Mroué and his collaborator Lina Saneh create productions which blend theatre, documentary and performance; and their independent stance, expressed keenly and boldly, is not to everyone’s liking in Lebanon. Their most recent show is brimming with fratricidal clashes, and highlights with dark irony the absurdity of the endless conflicts that continue to tear apart the Near and Middle East.