Popular from Iran
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 Separation
(جدایی نادر از سیمین)
Simin wants to leave Iran to give her daughter, Termeh, a different kind of life outside the country. But Nader, Termeh’s father, refuses to leave his ailing father behind.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2011
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
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
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
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 Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
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
New from Iran
Pig
(خوک)
A blacklisted filmmaker feels hurt and underappreciated when he is ignored by a serial killer targeting film directors.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2018
- Director Mani Haghighi
- Cast Hasan Ma'juni, Leila Hatami, Leili Rashidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Ali Bagheri, Mina Jafarzade
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Horror
- Available on Amazon Video
Beautiful City
(شهر زیبا)
While eighteen-year-old Akbar awaits execution for murder, his sister and friend attempt to convince the plaintiff to commute the sentence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2004
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Tarane Alidousti, Babak Ansari, Faramarz Gharibian, Ahoo Kheradmand, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh, Farhad Ghaemian
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Our Times
(روزگار ما)
A documentary about the 2002 presidential election in Iran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2002
- Director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
- Cast Pegah Ahangarani, Arezu Bayat, Reza Davoudnejad, Ehsan Delaviz, Baran Kosari
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Film Movement Plus
The Cow
(گاو)
An old villager is driven mad by the loss of his beloved cow.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1969
- Director Dariush Mehrjui
- Cast Ezzatolah Entezami, Mahin Shahabi, Ali Nasirian, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Firouz Behjat-Mohamadi, Jafar Vali
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor Amazon Channel
Dancing in the Dust
(رقص در غبار)
Hiding from creditors in the desert, a man works with a snake hunter to make enough money to settle his debts.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2003
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Faramarz Gharibian, Yousef Khodaparast, Baran Kosari, Jalal Sarhad Seraj
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
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
Shahrzad
(شهرزاد)
Around the time of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état, an Iranian mafia boss disrupts a young couple’s plans for marriage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2015
- Creator Hassan Fathi
- Cast Tarane Alidousti, Shahab Hosseini, Mostafa Zamani, Parinaz Izadyar, Mehdi Soltani, Parviz Fallahipour
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
Nabat
(نبات)
The peaceful existence of a single father and his young daughter is disrupted when a strange woman unexpectedly enters their lives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2019
- Director Pegah Arzi
- Cast Shahab Hosseini, Nazanin Farahani, Setayesh Mahmoudi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Video
Disappearance
(ناپدید شدن)
Facing complications after their first time, a young couple has only a few hours to seek out medical attention.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, Qatar • 2017
- Director Ali Asgari
- Cast Sadaf Asgari, Amirreza Ranjbaran, Nafiseh Zarei, Sahar Sotoodeh, Mohammad Heidari, Nazanin Ahmadi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy
Telescope Recommends
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
Rain
(باران)
An unlikely kinship is found between two workers on a building site in Tehran.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2001
- Director Majid Majidi
- Cast Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji, Hossein Mahjoub, Abbas Rahimi, Gholam Ali Bakhshi
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
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
Fireworks Wednesday
(چهارشنبه سوری)
A dissatisfied wife enlists her housekeeper’s help to gather information on the woman she suspects is having an affair with her husband.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2006
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Hamid Farrokhnejad, Hedie Tehrani, Tarane Alidousti, Pantea Bahram, Sahar Dolatshahi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
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
Turtles Can Fly
(لاکپشتها هم پرواز میکنند)
In 2003 at the Iraqi-Turkish border, Kurdish refugees await invasion by American soldiers.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France, Iraq • 2005
- Director Bahman Ghobadi
- Cast Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Hiresh Feysal Rahman, Abdol Rahman Karim, Ajil Zibari
- Genre Drama
- Available on AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Amazon Video
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
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, TCM, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Documentaries from Iran
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
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
Homework
(مشق شب)
Interviews with young male students explore the different kinds of issues Iranian children face completing their homework.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1989
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Babak Ahmadpoor, Farhang Akhavan, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Abbas Kiarostami, Iraj Safavi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel
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
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
Finding Farideh
(در جستجوی فریده)
An Iranian woman raised by a Dutch couple travels to Iran to try and find her biological parents.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, Netherlands • 2018
- Director Kourosh Ataee, Azadeh Moussavi
- Cast Eline Farideh Koning
- Genre Documentary
- Available on True Story, Hoopla
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
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
Divorce Iranian Style
A look inside an Iranian divorce court.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, United Kingdom • 1998
- Director Ziba Mir-Hosseini
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
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 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
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, TCM, Apple TV, Amazon Video
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
This Is Not a Film
(این فیلم نیست)
If we could tell a film, then why make a film?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 2011
- Director Jafar Panahi
- Cast Jafar Panahi, Igi, Mrs. Gheirat, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Rakhsan, Sima
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
From Outside Iran
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
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
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
Gholam
An Iranian immigrant living in London tries to escape his mysterious past.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Iran • 2017
- Director Mitra Tabrizian
- Cast Shahab Hosseini, Corinne Skinner-Carter, Armin Karima, Russell Parsi
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Festival Favorites
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
Yalda
(یلدا)
Maryam accidentally kills her husband, and the only way to suspend her death sentence is if Nasser’s daughter forgives her on live television.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France, Germany • 2020
- Director Massoud Bakhshi
- Cast Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Babak Karimi, Fereshteh Sadr Orafaee, Forough Ghajebeglou
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
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
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
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
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
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
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 Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
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