Director: Mohammad Haghani
Cast: Mahmood Nazaralian / Mehdi Hoseini
Robert is a 2025 Iranian short drama directed by Mohammad Haghani, tracing the inner world of a Christian man who stands at the sharpest of crossroads and, in a single defining moment, reaches for love over the instinct of self-preservation. At fourteen minutes, the film distills a complete human story into an extraordinarily compressed form.
What is Robert about?
A Christian man finds himself at a pivotal juncture where two paths diverge irreconcilably — one toward survival, one toward devotion. The film follows his interior reckoning as he weighs every reason to protect his own life against an overwhelming pull toward the person he loves. Without melodrama, the story traces the quiet, decisive logic of a man who understands the cost of his choice and accepts it fully. The narrative unfolds with restraint, allowing silences and glances to carry as much meaning as dialogue, building toward a conclusion the viewer senses long before it arrives.
Cast & crew
Mohammad Haghani directs with an economy of gesture that suits the short form — every visual decision is purposeful, and the film never overstays its fourteen-minute window. The two leads, Mahmood Nazaralian and Mehdi Hoseini, share the screen in a performance built on contrast and mutual understanding, conveying the weight of the central dilemma largely through physical presence and measured exchange.
Context & significance
Short films occupy a particular place in Iranian cinema — they have long served as the proving ground for directors exploring ideas that resist the longer feature format. Robert belongs to this tradition: an intimate, faith-inflected drama that examines how love functions as a moral absolute for one man living as a religious minority. For diaspora viewers, stories that center Iranian Christian characters carry a distinct resonance, offering a window into a community whose cultural experience sits at the intersection of Persian identity and a minority faith. The film's brevity is itself a formal statement — some decisions demand no deliberation, only clarity.
Where & how to watch
Robert is available on K-Time in its original Persian-language audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no geo-blocking, no VPN required. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.