Director: Mahdi Pakdel, Iman Afsharian
Cast: Sadegh Safaie, Ali Dehkordi, Amirreza Delavar, Majid Aghakarimi, Soode Sharahi
Farda is a 2015 Iranian drama film directed by Mahdi Pakdel and Iman Afsharian, running 88 minutes. It follows a young woman whose love of photography leads her and her mother on an unexpected journey, where the road itself becomes the real subject of the story.
What is Farda about?
A young woman with a deep passion for capturing the world through her camera convinces her mother to join her on a photography trip. What begins as a straightforward excursion gradually reveals the distance between the two women — emotional as much as geographic. Along the way, the daughter frames scenes that her mother cannot see, and the mother carries concerns the daughter is still too young to fully grasp. Encounters with strangers, changing landscapes, and quiet moments behind the lens push both of them toward a reckoning they had not planned for. The film unfolds slowly and deliberately, letting the relationship breathe and the silences do the heavier work.
Cast & crew
The film is co-directed by Mahdi Pakdel and Iman Afsharian, a collaborative pairing that keeps the emotional register understated throughout. The cast includes Sadegh Safaie, Ali Dehkordi, Amirreza Delavar, Majid Aghakarimi, Soode Sharahi, Mohammadreza Alimardani, Alireza Shojanuri, and Setareh Eskandari — an ensemble that grounds the story in lived, naturalistic performance.
Context & significance
Iranian road films occupy a distinctive corner of Persian cinema — they trade urban anxieties for open skies while keeping family tension at the centre. Farda sits within this tradition, pairing a generational divide with the particular intimacy of travel. For diaspora viewers, the film offers something quietly valuable: a picture of contemporary Iranian everyday life, its landscapes, its unspoken codes between mothers and daughters, and the way photography as a vocation can feel like both an escape and a way of paying attention. It is the kind of film that rewards patience, and that resonates differently depending on where you are watching it from.
Where & how to watch
Farda is available now on K-Time with original Persian audio. No VPN is needed — the platform is accessible from Canada, the US, Europe, and beyond, on your browser, TV, or phone. Start watching anytime and cancel anytime.