When I was working in an empty hotel lobby somewhere this week, I suddenly felt like I was being stared at. I looked up and saw a little girl looking at me. She wore a very frilly pink dress, shoes with glitters and she just looked, but not in an unfriendly way. This made me think of meeting Tehran these weeks. I was expecting a woman dressed in chador, very hard to approach, but instead I found a very colourful and friendly city.

As Richard Leacock teaches us at his old age, you can always be surprised, or can find out you had it all wrong. And this is what documentary is about in a way. To find out a different point of view, or a life that is not so unsimilar to your own.

Since this is our fifth and final issue, I would like to take this opportunity to thank some very special people, on behalf of all Tehrani nisimasians: Kaveh, our always smiling companion, Jalil, Hossein, Tara, Ali, Ladan and Nilofar. Also Massoud of course, Shirin, Leila and Mr Afarideh; and all the others at the DEFC for sharing their culture and giving us the opportunity to participate in it.

In about six weeks, a next Nisimazine will be made about 4 000 km from here, at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA). Another documentary adventure! Even sooner, just across the Iranian border, Nisimazine will take up residence in Kars for covering the Festival On Wheels (7.-13. November). Please continue to read us via our website, www.nisimasa.com, and see you hopefully next year!

Maartje Alders