Director: Mohammad Hossein Heydari

Cast: Azam Erfani

Mahin is a 2021 Iranian documentary-crime film directed by Mohammad Hossein Heydari, examining the life and crimes of Mahin Ghadiri, a woman whose case drew intense public and legal scrutiny in Iran as prosecutors labeled her the country's first female serial killer.

What is Mahin about?

The film reconstructs the story of Mahin Ghadiri, whose alleged crimes upended assumptions about violence, gender, and justice in Iranian society. Through testimony, archival material, and investigative reporting, the documentary pieces together a portrait of a woman condemned by courts and sensationalized by media — yet whose full story remains deeply contested. Rather than settling questions of guilt or innocence, the film sits with the contradictions: who Mahin was before the accusations, what the legal process looked like, and how her case became a mirror for broader anxieties about women's lives in contemporary Iran. The documentary refuses easy verdicts and pushes viewers to look carefully at the evidence and the institutions that shaped this case.

Cast & crew

The film is directed by Mohammad Hossein Heydari, who frames the documentary around firsthand accounts and legal records. Azam Erfani appears in the film, contributing to the investigative portrait of Mahin Ghadiri. The production draws on Iranian documentary filmmaking traditions, placing individual stories within larger social and judicial contexts.

Context & significance

For diaspora viewers, Mahin arrives with unusual weight. Cases involving women accused of extreme crimes in Iran carry layers of meaning — questions about how the Iranian judicial system treats female defendants, how media coverage shapes public perception, and what it means for a woman to become a symbol of danger in a patriarchal society. The documentary genre has long served Persian-speaking audiences as a vehicle for stories that fiction cannot easily hold. This film invites viewers to sit with discomfort, to ask whether labels like 'serial killer' can ever be applied without examining the conditions that produce them.

Where & how to watch

Mahin is available to stream on K-Time in its original Persian audio. No VPN is needed and there is no geo-blocking — watch on the web, a connected TV, or your phone. Subscription includes access to the full catalog; cancel anytime.