Director: Mahdi Golestanian
Cast: Ahmad Zabihi, Ali Osivand, Amirhossein Mehranjoo, Hasan Mollaei, Rasoul Naghibian
Bi Abo Nan Biaban (Hunger and Thirst…Desert) is a 2018 Iranian documentary film directed by Mahdi Golestanian, running 53 minutes, in which acclaimed actor Ali Osivand leads viewers on an immersive multi-day journey into Iran's vast desert interior, far from the noise of urban life.
What is Bi Abo Nan Biaban Full about?
The film follows actor Ali Osivand as he ventures deep into the Iranian desert on a several-day expedition. Leaving behind the crowded rhythms of city life, he moves through open, silent landscapes where time slows and the senses reset. Along the way, he encounters communities of camel herders and livestock farmers who have built quiet, self-sufficient lives in what outsiders assume is a barren wasteland. The documentary challenges that assumption head-on: rather than desolation, these desert regions reveal their own abundance, social warmth, and sustainable traditions. Golestanian's camera stays close to daily routines — tending animals, preparing food, navigating terrain — painting an intimate portrait of a way of life rarely seen on screen.
Cast & crew
Director Mahdi Golestanian shapes the film around Ali Osivand, a well-known Iranian actor whose presence gives the documentary an accessible, personal register. Osivand serves both as narrator and on-camera guide. The remaining credited participants — Ahmad Zabihi, Amirhossein Mehranjoo, Hasan Mollaei, and Rasoul Naghibian — appear as subjects encountered during the journey, grounding the film in authentic desert community life.
Context & significance
For diaspora Iranians, the desert interior of the homeland carries deep cultural and poetic weight — from classical Persian literature's images of solitude and spiritual seeking to the lived memory of road trips and provincial landscapes. This documentary speaks directly to that longing, offering a slow, meditative return to landscapes that many viewers left behind. It also gently reframes assumptions: the desert is not emptiness but a living, working world. At 53 minutes, the film fits naturally into an evening watch and works equally well as a conversation starter about Iranian rural life, tradition, and the environmental diversity most outsiders never associate with Iran.
Where & how to watch
Bi Abo Nan Biaban is available on K-Time with original Persian audio — no dubbing needed, as the film is entirely in Persian. Watch on the web, your TV, or phone with no VPN and no geo-blocking. Cancel anytime.