Director: Mehrshad Karkhani
Cast: Omid Alavi, Nima Raeisi, Niusha Modaber, Asha Mehrabi, Afshin Sang Chap
Do Lake Abr is a 2019 Iranian drama film directed by Mehrshad Karkhani, running 91 minutes. Set in the margins of Tehran, the film follows a young woman named Merva as she returns to everyday life after a period of incarceration, navigating the complex social landscape that awaits her on the outside.
What is Do Lake Abr about?
Merva has grown up in the southern districts of Tehran and carries the weight of a past she has not fully made sense of. When she is released from custody, she steps into a world that feels no less confining than the walls she has left behind. Society — with its unspoken rules, wary glances, and closed doors — closes in around her. As Merva attempts to rebuild a life, unanswered questions from her history resurface, casting shadows over every step forward. The film traces her quiet, determined effort to understand both herself and the world that stands between her and an ordinary existence, without ever resolving those shadows cheaply or quickly.
Cast & crew
The film is directed by Mehrshad Karkhani and features Omid Alavi and Nima Raeisi in prominent roles alongside Niusha Modaber, Asha Mehrabi, Afshin Sang Chap, Ali Zandi, and Asghar Tabasi. The ensemble brings together a range of Iranian performers, with the cast collectively grounding the film's portrayal of working-class Tehran life.
Context & significance
Iranian social drama has long concerned itself with the lives of those living at the edges of urban society, and Do Lake Abr fits within that tradition. For diaspora viewers, the film offers an unvarnished look at south Tehran — its textures, pressures, and human dynamics — that carries both documentary immediacy and personal resonance. The story of a woman navigating reintegration after imprisonment speaks to broader questions of belonging, judgment, and survival that transcend any single geography. Persian-language cinema has produced many works that examine the distance between official life and lived experience, and this film belongs to that lineage, offering a character study built on restraint and observation rather than melodrama.
Where & how to watch
Do Lake Abr is available to stream on K-Time with original Persian audio. No VPN is required and there is no geo-blocking — watch on the web, on your TV, or on your phone. Membership can be cancelled anytime.