Director: Poulad Kimiayi

Cast: Babak Hamidian, Leila Zare, Shahram Haghighat Doost

Makoos is an Iranian crime-drama film directed by Poulad Kimiayi, set against the backdrop of generational bonds forged before the revolution and the underground car racing scene that draws the next generation into its orbit. It is an intense character study exploring loyalty, legacy, and the pull of fast living.

What is Makoos about?

Two men — a former political activist and a mechanic — were close companions in the years before the revolution. Decades later their friendship endures, but their children's lives take an unexpected turn when the younger generation discovers the world of illegal street racing. The sons and daughters of these old friends are drawn into clandestine competitions held far from public view, where speed and danger replace the idealism their fathers once knew. As the stakes rise on the track, the ties binding two families across very different histories are tested in ways neither generation anticipated. The film moves between past friendship and present risk without ever fully separating the two.

Cast & crew

Poulad Kimiayi directs a cast anchored by Babak Hamidian, a versatile presence in contemporary Iranian cinema known for carrying dramatic weight with restraint. Leila Zare brings emotional texture to her role, while Shahram Haghighat Doost, a familiar face for Persian-speaking audiences, adds grounded authenticity to the older generation's strand of the story.

Context & significance

Makoos sits within a tradition of Iranian genre cinema that layers social history beneath surface-level thriller mechanics. Underground car racing as a setting is relatively rare in Iranian film, giving this production a distinct identity that sets it apart from the domestic drama mainstream. For diaspora viewers, the pre-revolution friendship at the film's core carries particular resonance — it anchors a very Iranian sense of what was lost and what persists across generations. Crime and sport converge here not for spectacle alone but as a vehicle for examining how fathers' unresolved histories shape the choices their children make, a theme that travels well across borders.

Where & how to watch

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