MIDDLE EASTERN culture comes to life on the big screen as part of Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival.

Audiences can spend an evening with Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf at Salisbury Arts Centre on Saturday, May 23, 7.30pm.

He discusses one of his most personal films along with the UK premiere of a new documentary about his filmmaking family.

In A Moment of Innocence, Makhmalbaf casts young actors to recreate a life-changing moment from his youth for a witty, multi-layered story of love and revolution.

Daddy’s School reveals how he moved from making films to making film makers, with his children winning awards at festivals while still in their teens.

There will also be the UK premiere of Come to My Voice on Sunday, May 24, 7.30pm, at Salisbury Arts Centre, which will be introduced by director Hüseyin Karabey.

Set in mountainous South Eastern Turkey, this captivating fable follows an elderly Kurdish woman and her granddaughter on a quest to save her son, who has been wrongly imprisoned by the military whilst looking for hidden guns.

With no weapons to be found in the village, they set off on an eventful journey to find a firearm to buy his freedom.

The story is told by three blind “dengbej” storytellers.

Salisbury Arts Centre hosts a triple bill of cinematic offerings – Gabbeh, Sunlight, Moonlight, Earth, and Taste of Cherry.

Gabbeh is an allegorical tale focusing on an almost extinct nomadic tribe of South Eastern Iran who are famed for their intricately designed Persian “Gabbeh” carpets. It is directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

Also part of the triple bill is Sunlight, Moonlight, Earth, which tells the story of Sheikh, a mysterious sage-like stranger, who arrives unannounced in a quiet rural village.

He wins the affections of seven-year-old Narges by saving her horse, but others are more suspicious of him, especially the scheming Malik, who sees him as a rival suitor for Nargis’ recently widowed mother.

However, little do they know that he is the owner of the land they all depend upon for their livelihood.

Ali Ghavitan’s film looks at themes of trust and acceptance and is a story of friendship.

The final offering of the triple bill is on Friday, May 29 and it is Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry, winner of the 1997 Cannes Palme d’Or.