Director: Emad Hosseini
Cast: Hassan Madjooni, Sajad Babaei, Hedieh Hosseininezhad, Hourieh Moghaddam, Mehdi Aboohamzeh
Ostad is a 2023 Iranian social drama directed by Emad Hosseini, running 82 minutes. The film centers on a young architecture student whose ambition to study abroad sets off a chain of events that expose uncomfortable truths about power, trust, and the unspoken rules of academic life in contemporary Iran.
What is Ostad about?
Golnoush is a driven 24-year-old studying architecture, focused on securing a place at a European university. To strengthen her application she seeks guidance from one of the most respected professors in her field — a figure whose reputation and influence seem to guarantee success. As their meetings grow more frequent and the relationship more entangled, small compromises accumulate and boundaries blur. What begins as a professional mentorship quietly shifts into something more complicated, revealing how ambition and vulnerability can be exploited within institutions that present themselves as meritocracies. The film holds its tension without melodrama, letting circumstance and character do the work.
Cast & crew
Emad Hosseini takes the director's chair for this feature debut, shaping a restrained and observational tone throughout. Hassan Madjooni anchors the film as the professor, bringing a studied ambiguity that keeps the audience unsettled. Sajad Babaei and Hedieh Hosseininezhad provide strong support, while Hourieh Moghaddam and Mehdi Aboohamzeh round out an ensemble that keeps the social world of the film feeling fully inhabited.
Context & significance
Films about institutional power and the pressures facing young women in Iranian higher education have found a growing audience among diaspora viewers precisely because they depict a reality that many families recognize — the invisible negotiations required to advance in a system that rewards connection as much as ability. Ostad fits this lineage of Iranian social dramas that operate quietly and precisely, drawing on everyday settings rather than grand confrontation. For Persian-speaking viewers outside Iran, this kind of film offers both a mirror and a window: familiar social textures rendered with enough critical distance to spark genuine reflection. The 2023 production marks a new voice entering this conversation.
Where & how to watch
Ostad is available on K-Time with original Persian audio and subtitles. You can stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and no extra download required. Membership is flexible with no long-term commitment; cancel anytime.