Director: Shahed Ahmadloo
Cast: Babak Noori, Behnaz Tavasoli, Fatemeh Shokri, Hasan Rezaei, Mohammad Reza Davood Nejad
Cinema Khar is a 2020 Iranian comedy-drama film directed by Shahed Ahmadloo, running approximately 80 minutes. The film follows the chaotic misadventures of a film crew hunting for a donkey to complete their shoot — a deceptively simple premise that spirals into a rich ensemble comedy about the madness of making movies in Iran.
What is Cinema Khar about?
A film crew in the middle of production hits an unexpected wall: several key scenes require a donkey, and finding one proves to be anything but straightforward. As the director, actors, and crew members fan out in pursuit of this animal, each member of the group ends up caught in their own chain of absurd circumstances. What begins as a logistical headache quickly becomes a portrait of creative desperation, interpersonal friction, and the unpredictable gap between what filmmakers imagine and what reality delivers. The donkey, perpetually just out of reach, becomes the film's quiet comic engine.
Cast & crew
Shahed Ahmadloo directs a strong ensemble that includes Babak Noori and Behnaz Tavasoli in lead roles, supported by Fatemeh Shokri, Hasan Rezaei, Mohammad Reza Davood Nejad, Mohsen Delikhon, Nasim Forough, and Pourya Shakibaei. The cast brings a naturalistic, improvisational energy to their roles, giving the film its grounded comedic texture.
Context & significance
Films about filmmaking have a long and beloved tradition in Iranian cinema, from Abbas Kiarostami's close observation of ordinary people to lighter satirical takes on the industry's daily absurdities. Cinema Khar fits squarely into this lineage, using the behind-the-scenes world as a mirror for broader social dynamics. For diaspora viewers, it offers a warm, unfiltered look at the texture of professional life in contemporary Iran — the improvisation, the camaraderie, the frustration — without the weight of political allegory. It is the kind of film that travels well precisely because its humor is rooted in universal human dynamics: ambition, miscommunication, and the stubborn refusal of the world to cooperate.
Where & how to watch
Cinema Khar is available to stream on K-Time in original Persian audio. No Persian dubbing or subtitles are included with this title. Watch on the web, your Android TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime.