Tehran turns Tinseltown

Amir Hussein Sharifi was a dead-ringer for Brian Blessed: full-bearded, man-mountainous. He came hurtling through the gateway of a reproduction glass-fibre castle on horseback sporting the flowing robes of a seventh century warrior.

I was on a guided-tour of Shahrak-e-Ghazali, Iran's equivalent of Universal Studios 15km outside Tehran. The actor was filming an action scene for a TV movie. Our appearance, as futuristic extras, had spoilt the scene. Without protest, Sharifi disappeared back into the castle's courtyard, amid a melée of cameramen, grips and best boys, and prepared to shoot the scene again.

Ghazali is a long way from the air-conditioned cinemas where Iran's film exports have been wooing London audiences. International recognition for Iranian cinema came as early as 1997, when a Taste of Cherry by Abbas Kiarostami won the Palme D'Or at Cannes, and since then its directors have been feted at festivals in New York, Venice, and at the National Film Theatre.

Neither age nor sex seems to be a barrier: last May's Barbican season - Unveiled Lives - showed 11 features by female directors including Samira Makhmalbaf's stark portrayal of Kurdish life, Blackboards, which followed her debut, and The Apple, made as a 17-year-old. Sharifi's film was a religious epic about Imam Ali. Iranian directors rely heavily on symbolism to stretch censorship and imply the social and political problems besetting Iran, but the blood-and-thunder action scenes of this movie left little to the imagination. Eventually, we were told, this production would be serialised on television.

Our taciturn guide, clad in black chador, led us along an eerily deserted street of onedimensional facades, explaining it was a reproduction of Lalehzar, one of Tehran's most prominent avenues. This was how it looked a century ago, she said. We visited more sets, including a mammoth courtyard of Herod's Palace constructed for a forthcoming production about the Virgin-Mary, and then we began to frazzle in the midday heat.

Craving shade, we paused to drink tea under the shelter of a desert tent fashioned from polystyrene. How long will it be before the Brits beat a path to Ghazali, I wondered, perhaps for a period-piece about Iran's late Shah? It could star Jeremy Irons, with Helena Bonham-Carter playing Queen Farah, his free-spending widow. Now there's a thought.

? Cine Lumière's short film season Behind the Veil, Images of and by Women in Iranian Cinema, starts on Thursday 14 February. Mark Stratton flew to Tehran with British Mediterranean Airways (0845 7733377; www.britishairways.com) which flies four times per week. Returns from £500.

For tailor-made itineraries contact Persian Voyages (01306 885894).