Director: Hamed Ahmadi, Hamidreza Ahmadi
Cast: Behzad Khalaj, Mahmoud Nazaralian, Mojtaba Fallahi, Saeed Ahmadi
Gharibeh va Baad is a 2018 Iranian short film directed by Hamed Ahmadi and Hamidreza Ahmadi, starring Behzad Khalaj in a quietly surreal black comedy that follows a hearse driver whose morning coffee stop takes a very unexpected turn when his cargo decides it isn't done yet.
What is Gharibeh va about?
A hearse driver picks up a body from the hospital and heads out on a routine delivery. He pulls over at a roadside tea house where an old friend works, intending to grab a quick breakfast before continuing his route. The tea house is presided over by the friend's father — a short-tempered, easily irritated man who makes the atmosphere tense. When the driver steps outside to retrieve cigarettes from the dashboard, he discovers the situation has changed entirely: the body he was transporting has stirred, found the cigarettes, and helped itself. What follows is a tightly wound encounter between the living and the supposedly dead, where ordinary social rules begin to dissolve.
The K-Time take
The Ahmadi brothers build their premise with an economy of means that suits the short format well. The film's dry comedic register never tips into farce; instead it lets the absurd situation breathe against naturalistic performances and a deadpan visual style. Khalaj's understated reaction work anchors the increasingly strange situation in something recognizably human.
Cast & crew
Behzad Khalaj, a respected figure in Iranian cinema and theater, leads the cast as the flustered hearse driver, bringing the film's dry humor into focus. Mahmoud Nazaralian and Mojtaba Fallahi round out the tea house scenes, while Saeed Ahmadi contributes to the ensemble that keeps the story grounded in everyday texture.
Context & significance
Iranian short film has a distinctive tradition of finding existential comedy in mundane situations — the absurd pressed up against the bureaucratic rhythms of daily life. Gharibeh va Baad fits squarely into this lineage, using a hearse and a roadside tea house as the staging ground for questions about mortality, routine, and the small interruptions that upend both. For diaspora viewers who grew up with the texture of Iranian qahveh-khanehs and long road journeys, the setting will carry an immediate resonance. The film's 2018 production places it in the era of a renewed independent short-film scene in Iran, where filmmakers were working creatively within tight constraints to produce work with genuine wit and craft.
Where & how to watch
Gharibeh va Baad is available now on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch on the web browser, on your TV via the Android app, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no extra download, and cancel anytime.