A film crew arrives in a small village in the mountains of Iran. A filmmaker who came back to Iran to make an art film for an overseas film festival, a producer who forced his way in through personal connections to work in the film industry, and staff members who finally got a gig after long periods of unemployment are in need of a “professional donkey” for the day’s shooting. The director wants to make an artistic, humanitarian, and meaningful film, but there is not enough budget and she constantly clashes with her inexperienced staff. On top of that, the professional donkey they finally manage to get refuses to move in an important scene. Cinema Donkey is a self-reflective comedy about filmmaking. Every character in the film each have their desires, and they only work to fulfill their selfish needs. Even the boy who loves the donkey and grew up with it takes off without even looking back once after the last scene is filmed, happy about the money he made. Through a simple, comedic story, this film cynically questions the meaning of filmmaking in this day and age, as well as the meaning of categories such as art film, indie film, and humanitarian film. It also adds a humorous commentary about conflicting human desires through scenes shot from the donkey’s point-of-view. (PARK Sun Young)