Director: Rama Ghavidel

Cast: Majid Mozaffari, Fateme Goudarzi, Pouria Poursorkh, Khosrow Shahraz, Ali Dehkordi

Ilda is a 2020 Iranian short drama film directed by Rama Ghavidel, set among the Bakhtiari nomadic tribes of Iran. Running 45 minutes, it brings to life the ancient customs, clan loyalties, and the quiet struggles of young women caught between tribal tradition and personal longing.

What is Ilda Short about?

Among the rugged mountain passes of Bakhtiari tribal territory, a young woman named Ilda faces a future already written for her by elders and clan agreements. Her family, bound by generations of inter-tribal custom, arranges her marriage to a young man from a rival Bakhtiari clan — a union meant to seal alliances but one that Ilda herself never chose. Through the landscapes of seasonal migration, communal life, and the unspoken language of tribal honor, the film follows Ilda as she navigates duty, identity, and the fragile space where a woman's voice either finds form or goes silent. The story unfolds with restraint, letting the terrain and the faces of those around Ilda speak as loudly as any dialogue.

Cast & crew

Majid Mozaffari plays Saleh Khan, a patriarch figure anchoring the tribal hierarchy. Fateme Goudarzi brings understated depth to the central female role. Pouria Poursorkh appears as Iraj, while Khosrow Shahraz takes on the role of Nasir Khan. Ali Dehkordi and Jafar Dehghan round out the ensemble, each embodying the layered social world of Bakhtiari clan life.

Context & significance

Iranian short films rooted in tribal and nomadic settings occupy a distinct and honored space in Persian cinema. The Bakhtiari people — famous since the early silent era of Iranian film — carry a visual and cultural richness that resonates deeply with diaspora viewers who grew up hearing stories of Iran's diverse ethnic and regional heritage. For Iranians abroad, a film like Ilda is both a window into a way of life rapidly changing under modernization and a reminder of the country's vast geographic and human texture far beyond Tehran. The forced-marriage premise, handled with anthropological care rather than melodrama, raises enduring questions about women's agency within traditional societies — questions the Iranian diaspora carries with particular weight.

Where & how to watch

Ilda is available on K-Time with its original Persian audio — the film's Bakhtiari dialogue and atmosphere are best experienced as recorded. Watch it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone, with no VPN needed and no geo-blocking. Subscribe and cancel anytime.