Director: Sean Charmatz
A kid who is scared of practically everything gets dragged out of bed by the one thing he fears most.
What is Orion and the Dark about?
Orion is a worrier's worrier, keeping a running list of everything that could go wrong, with the dark sitting right at the top. One night the Dark itself, tired of being universally feared, shows up in his room and pulls him along on a tour of what actually happens after the sun goes down. Along the way Orion meets a whole cast of nocturnal entities each responsible for a different part of nighttime, from the noises houses make while settling to the dreams people have while sleeping. As the trip stretches further from home, Orion has to decide whether to keep cataloguing dangers or start noticing what the night quietly gets right. The film wraps its coming-of-age arc in a framing device involving Orion, now grown, telling the story to his own daughter, giving the fantastical night-world detours a grounded, family-shaped bookend.
Cast & crew
Jacob Tremblay voices Orion, with Paul Walter Hauser giving voice to the Dark itself. Angela Bassett and Colin Hanks round out a cast of nighttime characters and family members who populate Orion's world both awake and asleep.
Context & significance
Directed by Sean Charmatz and based on a picture book by Emma Yarlett, the film blends traditional coming-of-age anxieties with an inventive, almost mythological cast of night-time forces. It runs 90 minutes and is aimed squarely at family viewing, pairing broad comedy with a gentler message about sitting with fear rather than avoiding it.
Where & how to watch
Orion and the Dark streams on K-Time with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles once you log into a free account, making it an easy pick for family movie nights in Farsi. The film's page itself is free to browse without signing in.