Popular from Iran
The Salesman
(فروشنده)
Emad and Rana move into a new flat, but an incident with the previous tenant dramatically changes their life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2016
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Karimi, Mina Sadati, Mehdi Koushki, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Taxi
(تاکسی)
An exiled filmmaker posing as a cab driver captures incisive portraits of diverse passengers in present-day Tehran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Jafar Panahi
- Genre Comedy, Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Tehran Taboo
Four young people from Tehran, Iran are forced to break the taboos of a restrictive Islamic society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Austria • 2017
- Director Ali Soozandeh
- Cast Arash Marandi, Alireza Bayram, Siir Eloglu, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi, Klaus Ofczarek
- Genre Drama, Animation
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Just 6.5
(متری شش و نیم)
Who is trafficking all these drugs for just 6.5 addicts?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2019
- Director Saeed Roustaee
- Cast Payman Maadi, Navid Mohammadzade, Parinaz Izadyar, Farhad Aslani, Houman Kiai, Maziar Seyedi
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
Hit the Road
(جاده خاکی)
A family bonds on a road trip through northwestern Iran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2022
- Director Panah Panahi
- Cast Hassan Madjooni, Pantea Panahiha, Rayan Sarlak, Amin Simiar, Masoud Tosifyan
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Chess of the Wind
(شطرنج باد)
A web of greed, violence, and betrayal ensnares the heirs to a family fortune vying for control of the estate.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1976
- Director Mohammad Reza Aslani
- Cast Fakhri Khorvash, Mohammadali Keshavarz, Akbar Zanjanpour, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Shahram Golchin, Hamid Taati
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on No streaming locations found.
New from Iran
Inversion
(وارونگی)
Niloofar is torn between loyalty and self-determination after her family instructs her to leave Tehran with her sickly mother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2016
- Director Behnam Behzadi
- Cast Sahar Dolatshahi, Ali Mosaffa, Setareh Pesyani, Roya Javidnia, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy
Terrestrial Verses
(آیه های زمینی)
The lives of ordinary people in Iran as showcased in nine separate vignettes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2023
- Director Alireza Khatami, Ali Asgari
- Cast Majid Salehi, Gohar Kheyrandish, Farzin Mohades, Sadaf Asgari, Hossein Soleymani, Faezeh Rad
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
(دانه انجیر معابد)
A judge's family is torn apart when political protests erupt in Iran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France, Germany • 2024
- Director Mohammad Rasoulof
- Cast Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Setareh Maleki, Mahsa Rostami, Niusha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghirad
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Plex
Bassidji
To better understand their ideas, Mehran Tamadon engages with extremist supporters of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Basij.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France, Switzerland • 2009
- Director Mehran Tamadon
- Cast
- Genre
- Available on DocAlliance Films
Our Uniform
Through this short, director Yegane Moghaddam reflects on her experience wearing a hijab in school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2023
- Director Yegane Moghaddam
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Mani
A day in the life of 12-year-old Mani, and the unusual love triangle between Mani, his chauffeur, and his mother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2020
- Director Ashkan Mehri
- Cast Taha Seyf, Milad Moayeri, Vesal Roozkhash
- Genre Drama
- Available on Filmzie
Telescope Recommends
Offside
(آفساید)
Since women are banned from attending men's sporting events in Iran, a group of female soccer fans disguise themselves as men to watch a match at Tehran's stadium.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2006
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Where Is the Friend's House?
(خانهی دوست کجاست؟)
After accidentally taking his friend's notebook, an 8-year-old boy sets out to return it.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1987
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Kheda Barech Defai, Iran Outari, Ait Ansari, Sadika Taohidi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
24 Frames
An experimental project in which filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami combines photography and filmmaking.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2017
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Salesman
(فروشنده)
Emad and Rana move into a new flat, but an incident with the previous tenant dramatically changes their life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2016
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Karimi, Mina Sadati, Mehdi Koushki, Farid Sajjadi Hosseini
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
The House Is Black
(خانه سیاه است)
A look at life and suffering in a leper colony with a focus on the beauty of creation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1963
- Director Forugh Farrokhzad
- Cast Forugh Farrokhzad, Ebrahim Golestan, Hossein Mansouri
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A lonely vampire preys on the depraved residents of Bad City — but finds love in another tortured soul.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, United States • 2014
- Director Ana Lily Amirpour
- Cast Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo
- Genre Horror, Romance, Western
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Close-Up
(کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک)
A young man is arrested for impersonating a famous filmmaker.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1990
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Monoochehr Ahankhah, Mahrokh Ahankhah, Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi
- Genre Crime, Documentary, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Life, and Nothing More...
(زندگی و دیگر هیچ)
A town rebuilds itself after the earthquake of Guilan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1992
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Farhad Kheradmand, Buba Bayour, Hocine Rifahi, Ferhendeh Feydi, Mahrem Feydi, Bahrovz Aydini
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Wind Will Carry Us
(باد ما را خواهد برد)
A city man has more to learn than he thinks from the townspeople where his dying relative lives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 1999
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Behzad Dorani, Noghre Asadi, Roushan Karam Elmi, Bahman Ghobadi, Shahpour Ghobadi, Reihan Heidari
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Documentaries from Iran
Close-Up
(کلوزآپ ، نمای نزدیک)
A young man is arrested for impersonating a famous filmmaker.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1990
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Monoochehr Ahankhah, Mahrokh Ahankhah, Nayer Mohseni Zonoozi
- Genre Crime, Documentary, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Alone Through Iran: 1144 Miles of Trust
A Swedish long distance runner embarks on a 58-day journey across Iran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Sweden, Iran • 2017
- Director André Larsson, Shamim Berkeh
- Cast Kristina Paltén
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Amazon Video
First Case, Second Case
(قضیه شکل اول... شکل دوم.)
Two versions of a classroom discipline situation, evaluated by talking heads in terms of morality, rights, and responsibilities.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1979
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Mehdi Azadbakht, Mohammadreza Barati, Hedayat Matin Daftari, Nader Ebrahimi, Ehteram Boroumand, Ezzatolah Entezami
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
24 Frames
An experimental project in which filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami combines photography and filmmaking.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2017
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
The House Is Black
(خانه سیاه است)
A look at life and suffering in a leper colony with a focus on the beauty of creation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1963
- Director Forugh Farrokhzad
- Cast Forugh Farrokhzad, Ebrahim Golestan, Hossein Mansouri
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
First Graders
(اولی هاSo)
A documentary film about young schoolboys and their superintendent, who is responsible for dealing with latecomers and discipline problems.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1984
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
Monir
A chronicle of the life and work of an influential and innovative Iranian artist, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2017
- Director Bahman Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
The Black Flag
On the front lines with the Shi’a men fighting ISIL in Iraq.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Director Majed Neisi
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on GuideDoc, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Iranian
(Iranien)
An atheist Iranian filmmaker engages four mullahs in a group conversation about faith, belief, and daily life.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Switzerland, Iran • 2014
- Director Mehran Tamadon
- Cast Mohsen Kalhor
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV
The Snow Calls
Mina has three daughters and is now pregnant with her fourth child. The people of her community – including her husband – believe that a man must have at least one son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2020
- Director Marjan Khosravi
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube
ABC Africa
Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami documents his experience with resilient children left orphaned by the Ugandan Civil War and AIDS crisis.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2001
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel, Kanopy
Divorce Iranian Style
A look inside an Iranian divorce court.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, United Kingdom • 1998
- Director Ziba Mir-Hosseini
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
Two Solutions for One Problem
(دو راه حل برای يک مسئله)
After one young schoolboy tears his friend’s notebook, two diverging outcomes – of conflict and of peace – are presented.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1975
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
Our Uniform
Through this short, director Yegane Moghaddam reflects on her experience wearing a hijab in school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2023
- Director Yegane Moghaddam
- Cast
- Genre Animation, Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube
F for Fake
(Vérités et Mensonges)
Orson Welles' final film sheds light on the lives of infamous 20th century fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Iran, West Germany • 1973
- Director Orson Welles
- Cast Orson Welles, Elmyr de Hory, Clifford Irving, Oja Kodar, Laurence Harvey, Joseph Cotten
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
From Outside Iran
Under the Shadow
After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor says the missile was cursed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Jordan, Qatar • 2016
- Director Babak Anvari
- Cast Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Hamid Djavadan, Bijan Daneshmand
- Genre Drama, Horror, Thriller, War
- Available on Netflix, Hoopla, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Holy Spider
(عنکبوت مقدس)
A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad to investigate the serial killings of sex workers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Germany, Sweden • 2022
- Director Ali Abbasi
- Cast Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mehdi Bajestani, Arash Ashtiani, Forouzan Jamshidnejad, Sina Parvaneh, Nima Akbarpour
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
The Charmer
(Charmøren)
A young Iranian man desperately tries to seduce a woman who can secure his citizenship in Denmark.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Sweden • 2018
- Director Milad Alami
- Cast Ardalan Esmaili, Soho Rezanejad, Lars Brygmann, Susan Taslimi, Stine Fischer Christensen, Amalie Lindegård
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Circumstance
Everything wasn't perfect before, but now Atafeh and Shireen face even more obstacles for the sake of their relationship.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States, Iran • 2011
- Director Maryam Keshavarz
- Cast Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho, Sina Amedson
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Festival Favorites
3 Faces
(سه رخ)
Actress Behnaz Jafari and director Jafar Panahi take a road trip to rural Iran in hopes of saving a missing girl.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2018
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Behnaz Jafari, Jafar Panahi, Marziyeh Rezaei, Maedeh Erteghaei, Narges Del Aram
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
There Is No Evil
(شیطان وجود ندارد)
Shot in secret and smuggled out of Iran, this anthology film comprises four stories of men responsible for implementing capital punishment.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Iran, Czech Republic • 2020
- Director Mohammad Rasoulof
- Cast Mahtab Servati, Shaghayegh Shourian, Baran Rasoulof, Darya Moghbeli, Kaveh Ahangar
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
No Date, No Signature
(بدون تاریخ بدون امضا)
One day at Kaveh he meets a corpse which is very familiar to him at work.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2017
- Director Vahid Jalilvand
- Cast Amir Aghaee, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Hediyeh Tehrani, Zakiyeh Behbahani, Saeed Dakh, Alireza Ostadi
- Genre Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Tubi TV, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Starless Dreams
(رویاهای بدون ستاره)
This gentle, honest documentary takes the viewer within the walls of an Iranian center of correction and rehabilitation for women.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2017
- Director Mehrdad Oskouei
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Kanopy
No Bears
(خرس نیست)
Lovers in two parallel love stories are thwarted by hidden obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2022
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Naser Hashemi, Bakhtiyar Panjeei, Vahid Mobaser, Jafar Panahi, Mina Kavani, Reza Heydari
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Ava
Coming-of-age in Tehran, a young girl starts to rebel against against the strictures imposed by her school and the society at large.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, Canada, Qatar • 2017
- Director Sadaf Foroughi
- Cast Mahour Jabbari, Vahid Aghapoor, Parnian Akhtari, Sarah Alimoradi, Mona Ghiasi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Taxi
(تاکسی)
An exiled filmmaker posing as a cab driver captures incisive portraits of diverse passengers in present-day Tehran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Jafar Panahi
- Genre Comedy, Documentary
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
A Hero
(قهرمان)
A good deed turns a man into a local celebrity, and also raises the suspicions of those closest to him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Iran • 2021
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Sunless Shadows
The lives of Iranian girls imprisoned for murdering male family members.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, Norway • 2022
- Director Mehrdad Oskouei
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy