Director: Sarzamine Madari
Cast: Siavash
Daastane Siavash is a 2025 Iranian historical animated film produced by Sarzamine Madari (Motherland Group), retelling one of the most beloved and tragic episodes from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh — the story of the noble prince Siyavash, whose virtue, courage, and fate became the moral heart of the Persian epic tradition.
What is Sarzamine Madari Daastane Siavash about?
In the mythic age of ancient Iran, a prince of extraordinary virtue is born into a court divided by ambition and desire. Raised under the tutelage of the legendary hero Rostam, young Siyavash grows into a warrior of rare honour. When he returns to his father Kay Kavus's court, he faces a test that no battlefield can prepare him for: a false accusation from a powerful figure within the palace walls. To prove his innocence, he walks through fire — and emerges unscathed. Yet even that cannot spare him from the political currents pulling him toward exile and the hostile lands of Afrasiab. The film traces his journey through loyalty, betrayal, and impossible choices, drawing on Ferdowsi's verses to bring the timeless human drama of the Shahnameh to a contemporary audience.
Cast & crew
The film is produced by Sarzamine Madari (Motherland Group) in collaboration with GapFilm and the Dastaminophen Podcast. The project assembled some of Iran's most celebrated voice artists to give breath to iconic characters — Rostam, Kay Kavus, Afrasiab, Sudabeh, and the prince Siyavash himself — honouring the oral tradition at the core of Persian storytelling.
Context & significance
The Siyavash cycle is among the most emotionally resonant chapters of the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi's tenth-century Persian epic that forms the backbone of Iranian cultural identity. For diaspora Iranians, these stories carry a particular weight: they are the myths read at grandparents' knees, the names given to children, the grief and heroism that define what it means to be Persian across centuries and continents. An animated retelling produced in Iran and voiced by familiar artists bridges generations — offering younger diaspora viewers their first encounter with the myth in a visually modern form, while giving older viewers a return to something deep and familiar. The collaboration between Sarzamine Madari and the Dastaminophen Podcast community signals a growing ecosystem of Persian cultural content being made with craft and affection.
Where & how to watch
Daastane Siavash is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. Stream it on the web, on your TV, or on your phone — no geo-blocking, no VPN needed. Watch anytime with a K-Time subscription and cancel anytime.