Director: Mehrdad Khoshbakht
Cast: Alireza Kamali, Mohammad Hassan Madjooni, Nader Soleimani
Abadan 11 is a 2020 Iranian war drama film directed by Mehrdad Khoshbakht, set in the early days of the Iraqi invasion of Iran. The film centers on the crew of a local radio station in Abadan as they fight to keep broadcasting under devastating aerial bombardment, turning their transmitter into a lifeline of hope for a city under siege.
What is Abadan 11 about?
When Saddam Hussein's forces launch their assault on Abadan in 1980, the city quickly becomes the front line of a brutal conflict. Inside a small local radio station, a group of young men and women refuse to go silent. With shells falling around them, they improvise, argue, and push through fear to maintain a broadcast signal — not just to relay information, but to remind the people of Abadan that they have not been abandoned. The film follows their efforts hour by hour, capturing the chaos of the invasion's opening days through the intimate lens of one room, one microphone, and the voices of ordinary Iranians determined to be heard.
Cast & crew
Director Mehrdad Khoshbakht brings a restrained, close-quarters approach to the material. The cast is led by Alireza Kamali alongside Mohammad Hassan Madjooni and Nader Soleimani. Madjooni, a respected and prolific presence in Iranian cinema, lends the ensemble a grounded authority, while Kamali and Soleimani carry much of the story's emotional urgency.
Context & significance
Abadan holds a singular place in Iran's collective memory. The city bore some of the heaviest bombardment of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, and its name became synonymous with resistance. For the Iranian diaspora, stories set in Abadan carry deep personal weight — many families fled the city, or lost relatives there, in those opening months of 1980. A film framed around a radio station also resonates historically: radio was the primary medium through which Iranians at home and abroad followed the war's unfolding, and its voices meant survival, solidarity, and proof that the city still stood. Abadan 11 works within a strong tradition of Iranian war cinema that prioritizes human scale over spectacle.
Where & how to watch
Abadan 11 is available to stream on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch it on your TV, computer, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and no extra download required. Subscribe and cancel anytime.