The Sheik and I

Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of “art as a subversive act,” independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi goes overboard. Told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik, who rules the country and finances the Biennial, Zahedi decides to do just that. He turns his camera on the Biennial itself and gleefully presses every culturally sensitive button he can find. But his court jester antics fail to amuse. Zahedi’s film is banned for blasphemy and he is threatened with a fatwa.