Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Cast: Reza Hashemi, Mehdi Shahravanfar
Nano koucheh is a 1970 Iranian short drama directed by Abbas Kiarostami, produced through the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. Clocking in at ten minutes, it is one of Kiarostami's earliest films and already shows the restrained humanism that would define his career.
What is Nano koucheh about?
A small boy sets off on a simple errand — fetching bread from the market — and heads back through the narrow alleyways of his neighbourhood. The route home leads him straight into a standoff he did not expect: a large, agitated dog has planted itself across the lane and refuses to let him pass. The boy calls out to adults going by, hoping one of them will step in and clear the way, but each person walks on without a second glance. Left entirely on his own, he takes stock of what he has and works out a quiet, resourceful way to end the standoff — using the bread he was sent to fetch in the first place.
The K-Time take
Even at ten minutes, Kiarostami's eye is unmistakable: a child protagonist, a single obstacle, and a world of indifferent adults. The film belongs to the neorealist tradition of watching ordinary life unfold with minimal intervention, and its ending carries the gentle wit that would later appear in Where Is the Friend's House? and The Wind Will Carry Us.
Cast & crew
Abbas Kiarostami directs, working with young non-professional performers at the start of a career that would later earn him the Palme d'Or for Taste of Cherry. Reza Hashemi plays the boy at the centre of the story, and Mehdi Shahravanfar appears in a supporting role alongside the passers-by who form the film's silent, unhelpful adult world.
Context & significance
Made under the auspices of Kanoon — Iran's state institute for children's cinema — Nano koucheh sits at the very beginning of what became one of world cinema's most celebrated directorial journeys. For diaspora viewers, the film carries a double weight: it is a document of pre-revolution Tehran's alleyways, the kind of tight residential lane that features in collective memory across multiple generations, and it is the earliest glimpse of a filmmaker who came to represent Iranian cinema on the global stage. Short, undemanding, and quietly moving, it works equally well as an introduction for younger viewers and as an archival gem for anyone tracing the roots of Iranian new-wave cinema.
Where & how to watch
Nano koucheh is available to stream on K-Time. The film has original Persian audio; no Persian dub or subtitle track is required for this largely dialogue-light short. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN required, no geo-blocking, cancel anytime.