Is Malaria (2016) a true story or based on a real event?

The film is an original fictional work by director Parviz Shahbazi, though its portrait of provincial family dynamics and Tehran street life draws on recognizable social realities of contemporary Iran rather than a specific documented incident.

Malaria filme irani hast? Koja bebinam?

Yes — it is a fully Iranian production shot in Iran. You can watch it on K-Time through any web browser or Android device. No VPN is needed and no extra software download is required.

Does Malaria have English subtitles on K-Time?

K-Time streams Malaria with the original Persian audio track. English subtitles are included so viewers who prefer to follow in English can do so without missing any of the dialogue or nuance.

What genre is Malaria and who will enjoy it?

It is a social drama. Viewers who appreciate quiet, character-driven Iranian films about family conflict, urban freedom, and the emotional cost of unconventional choices will find it engaging and thoughtfully made.

Malaria

Name: Malaria
Genre: Drama
Released: 2016
Duration: 100 min
Cast: Saghar Ghanaat, Saed Soheili, Azarakhsh Farahani, Azadeh Namdari

Director: Parviz Shahbazi

Cast: Saghar Ghanaat, Saed Soheili, Azarakhsh Farahani, Azadeh Namdari

Malaria is a 2016 Iranian drama film directed by Parviz Shahbazi, following a young woman whose secret elopement with her musician boyfriend sets off a frantic search by her unsuspecting family and pulls her into the unpredictable world of Tehran's street music scene.

What is Malaria about?

When a young woman vanishes from her provincial home, her father and brothers receive what sounds like a ransom call and immediately race to Tehran, fearing the worst. Unknown to them, she has slipped away voluntarily — trading her old life for the company of a loose-knit band of street musicians and the freedom of the capital's margins. Her relationship with the band's charismatic leader becomes the emotional center of her new existence, but when the law catches up with the group, she finds herself at a crossroads between loyalty, love, and an uncertain future she had not fully imagined when she made her escape.

Cast & crew

Director Parviz Shahbazi is one of contemporary Iranian cinema's quietly observant voices, known for grounding social stories in naturalistic performance. Saghar Ghanaat carries the film's emotional weight as the young protagonist, supported by Saed Soheili, Azarakhsh Farahani, and Azadeh Namdari in roles that fill out the street-music world she enters.

Context & significance

Malaria belongs to a strand of Iranian social realism that maps the distance between provincial expectations and the chaotic freedoms of Tehran street life. The film frames its protagonist's choice not as rebellion for its own sake but as a search for selfhood that collides with family honor and the precariousness of life outside sanctioned structures. For diaspora viewers, these tensions — between the world parents imagine and the one young people actually inhabit — carry a particular resonance, reflecting experiences many Iranian families have navigated across generations and geographies. Shahbazi's restrained direction keeps the story grounded in character rather than melodrama.

Where & how to watch

Malaria is available on K-Time with original Persian audio and English subtitles. Watch on any web browser or Android TV and phone with no VPN required, no geo-blocking, and no extra download needed. Subscription is flexible — cancel anytime.