Director: Behrooz Shoeibi
Cast: Sara Bahrami, Mahnaz Afshar, Amin Hayai
Darkoob is a 2018 Iranian drama film directed by Behrooz Shoeibi, exploring themes of addiction, motherhood, and fractured families through the story of a woman determined to reclaim her place in her daughter's life after years of personal struggle.
What is Darkoob about?
Mahsa is a woman working to rebuild her life while battling addiction. She has long believed her daughter is gone from her world — until she discovers the girl is alive and being raised by her former husband and his new partner. Convinced that her child deserves to know her mother, Mahsa resolves to re-enter the picture. That decision forces her to confront the man she once shared her life with, navigate the complex dynamics of his new household, and reckon with the damage left by her past. The film follows her journey without offering easy answers, presenting the competing claims of love, loss, guilt, and the painful distance between who we were and who we are trying to become.
Cast & crew
Sara Bahrami leads the film as Mahsa, bringing precision and emotional restraint to a character who must carry both vulnerability and resolve. Mahnaz Afshar appears as the new wife, adding layered tension to the domestic conflict at the story's centre. Amin Hayai plays the ex-husband, grounding the drama in the quiet weight of shared history and irreconcilable choices. Director Behrooz Shoeibi draws measured, credible performances from all three.
Context & significance
Iranian cinema has long examined the pressures placed on women navigating family structures, legal constraints, and personal redemption simultaneously — and Darkoob sits squarely within that tradition. For diaspora viewers, the film offers recognisable emotional terrain: the guilt of distance, the longing to repair what was broken, and the question of whether a parent's love alone can bridge the gap left by absence. Drama audiences familiar with the work of Sara Bahrami and Mahnaz Afshar will find both performers in strong form here. The film is compact at 90 minutes, prioritising character over plot mechanics, and rewards patient viewing.
Where & how to watch
Darkoob is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, cancel anytime.