Director: Bahram Nozari

Cast: Hasan Mohammadi, Pouya Leilayi, Taha Mansouri, Peyman Mohseni

Lakposhthaie Yakh Zadeh (Frozen Turtles) is a 2022 Iranian crime-drama short film directed by Bahram Nozari, running approximately seven minutes. It follows a deaf-mute homeless youth who witnesses a violent act and responds with lethal force, compressing a world of moral weight into a remarkably brief runtime.

What is Lakposhthaie Yakh Zadeh about?

Khosrou is a young man who lives on the street, deaf and without a voice, surviving at the margins of society. One night he comes upon his workshop owner committing an act of brutal violence. With no language available to him and no institution to turn to, Khosrou acts on raw instinct. The film holds the moment suspended — what comes next is deliberately withheld from the viewer, leaving the question of justice, guilt, and survival entirely open. In less than ten minutes, Nozari sketches a world where the most vulnerable are also the most exposed, and where silence is not peace but something far heavier.

Cast & crew

Director Bahram Nozari shapes the film around a nearly wordless performance by Hasan Mohammadi in the lead role of Khosrou. Pouya Leilayi, Taha Mansouri, and Peyman Mohseni round out the small ensemble. The tight cast list suits the film's stripped-down premise: every face on screen carries narrative weight with minimal dialogue.

Context & significance

Short Iranian cinema has long operated as a proving ground for ideas too raw or too quiet for the commercial feature circuit. Lakposhthaie Yakh Zadeh sits in a tradition of socially urgent short films that deal with homelessness, disability, and class violence — subjects that resonate strongly with diaspora viewers who carry memories of Tehran's underbelly alongside nostalgia for Iran. For Persian-speaking audiences abroad, this kind of film functions as a truth-telling mirror: small in scale, unsparing in its gaze. The crime-drama framing is spare rather than sensational, and the seven-minute form demands focused attention from its audience.

Where & how to watch

Lakposhthaie Yakh Zadeh is available on K-Time with Persian subtitles. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and no extra download required. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.