Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Dariush Mehrjui, Rakhshan Banietemad

Cast: Khosro Shakibai, Ali Mosaffa, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Mohammadreza Sharifinia, Negar Foroozandeh

Dastanhaye Jazire is a 2000 Iranian anthology film featuring short works directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Dariush Mehrjui, and Rakhshan Banietemad, three of Iran's most recognized filmmakers, running 91 minutes and offering distinct narrative visions united under a single feature release.

What is Dastanhaye Jazire about?

The film brings together separate short stories, each helmed by one of three directors working independently. Makhmalbaf contributes a segment examining democratic participation through a fictional scenario, while Mehrjui's piece follows a character searching for a missing cousin against the backdrop of everyday Iranian life. Banietemad, known for socially observant work, adds a third thread that completes the anthology structure. The three segments do not share characters or a continuous plot; instead, they share a common Iranian social register — ordinary people navigating ordinary circumstances with quiet tension. The film's anthology format allows each director full creative latitude, and the result is a mosaic of contrasting styles and concerns brought together in one feature presentation.

Cast & crew

The cast includes Khosro Shakibai and Mohammadreza Sharifinia, both prominent figures in Iranian cinema, alongside Ali Mosaffa, Negar Foroozandeh, Baran Kosari, Shahabodin Faroukh Yar, and Ebrahim Sheibani. Makhmalbaf also appears on screen in his own segment. The ensemble reflects the broad creative networks that each of the three directors brought to the project.

Context & significance

Anthology films have a long tradition in world cinema, and this Iranian example gathers three directors who had each built substantial careers in Iranian social realism and literary adaptation by 2000. Mehrjui had established himself with adaptations of literary works; Makhmalbaf had become internationally recognized for films exploring Iranian society; Banietemad had earned a reputation for stories centered on women and working-class life. For diaspora viewers, the film offers a window into the sensibility of late-1990s Iranian cinema — its textures, its social concerns, and its understated visual language. Watching three distinct voices respond to similar thematic territory within a single feature is itself instructive about the range Iranian filmmaking contained at that moment.

Where & how to watch

Dastanhaye Jazire is available on K-Time. The film is presented in its original Persian audio without subtitles. Watch on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and you can cancel anytime.