Director: Masoud Dehnavi
Cast: Mohammad Najarian, Anis Saniee, Fatemeh Rad, Delaram Torki, Shahrzad Kahani
Rokh Poosh is a 2024 Iranian war-drama short film directed by Masoud Dehnavi, set in the early days of the Iran-Iraq War in Kharo, a small village near Nishapur. With all the men gone to the front, the women left behind must face threats from Mojahedin-e Khalq fighters who arrive to intimidate them.
What is Rokh Poosh about?
The story unfolds in a quiet Khorasan village at the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. Every man of fighting age has answered the call of the front, leaving only women, children, and elders in Kharo. Into this fragile world step armed members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq organization, who move through the village spreading fear among those who remain. The women, unprotected and outnumbered, must find the strength and resolve to hold their ground and protect their families. The film compresses an era of dread and resilience into twenty precise minutes, tracing how ordinary rural women navigated extraordinary danger when the structures that normally sheltered them had vanished.
Cast & crew
The film is directed by Masoud Dehnavi, working in the tradition of Iranian short-form war cinema. The ensemble cast includes Mohammad Najarian, Anis Saniee, Fatemeh Rad, Delaram Torki, Shahrzad Kahani, and Avin Bandi, who together portray the women and villagers caught between the front line and armed political violence at home.
Context & significance
Iranian war cinema has long drawn on the human cost of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, but most narratives focus on male soldiers at the front. Rokh Poosh turns the camera toward the home front — specifically toward village women in Khorasan province whose ordeal has rarely been depicted on screen. For diaspora viewers who grew up hearing family stories about those years, this short film offers a ground-level portrait of civilian fear and everyday courage. Its rural Nishapur setting grounds the drama in a region often overlooked by Tehran-centric productions, giving the film a regional authenticity that resonates with Iranian audiences from all backgrounds.
Where & how to watch
Rokh Poosh is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no geo-blocking, no VPN needed. Subscribe and cancel anytime.