Cultural critic and historian Hamid Dabashi draws from his friendship with Makhmalbaf, as well as his intense involvement with Makhmalbaf"s films and thought, to present a deeply engaging examination of the tumultuous life and spectacular career of this great filmmaker. His films, from "The Street Vendor" and "Time of Love", to "Hello Cinema", "Gabbeh", "The Silence and Kandahar" are always surprising and confound conventional genres. They both represent and take part in his own journey, in ways which Dabashi explores with great insight. Makhmalbaf"s cinematic career started in Iran and has since expanded into Turkey, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and into Europe. Dabashi uncovers how, moving across boundaries, Makhmalbaf"s creative genius can throw light on our contemporary predicament, with headlines that posit "Islam and the West" illustrating the dangerous delusion of a world at war with itself.