Director: Hosein Torkjoosh
Cast: Abbas Khodaverdian, Ali Mahmoudi, Ali Fakouri, Alireza Kalateh
Shah Dozd is a 2024 Iranian short film directed by Hosein Torkjoosh, following a street kid with a history of petty theft who finds himself on the unexpected side of the law — trying to stop a crime rather than commit one.
What is Shah Dozd about?
A young boy who grew up surviving on the streets through small thefts faces a different kind of test when he witnesses a robbery in progress. Instead of looking away or seizing an opportunity for himself, he decides to intervene. The road to doing the right thing, however, turns out to be far more complicated than expected — obstacles pile up, allegiances blur, and the gap between good intentions and real outcomes becomes painfully clear. The film packs a complete moral arc into its brief ten-minute runtime, grounding its premise in the everyday reality of children left behind by social safety nets.
Cast & crew
The film is directed by Hosein Torkjoosh and features Abbas Khodaverdian, Ali Mahmoudi, Ali Fakouri, and Alireza Kalateh in its principal roles. Torkjoosh draws restrained, naturalistic performances from his cast, leaning on the physical expressiveness of his young lead to carry the film's emotional weight without dialogue-heavy exposition.
Context & significance
Short films have long served as a vital proving ground for Iranian cinema, producing internationally celebrated voices through works that are tightly constrained yet rich in social observation. Shah Dozd sits within a strong tradition of Iranian shorts that center the lives of marginalized urban children — a lineage stretching from Kiarostami through a generation of socially engaged filmmakers who see childhood as a lens for examining inequality. For diaspora viewers, this strand of Iranian cinema carries particular resonance: it captures a street-level texture of Iranian urban life rarely seen in mainstream entertainment, rendered with honesty rather than sentimentality. At just ten minutes, the film demands little of your clock while offering a complete, quietly affecting story.
Where & how to watch
Shah Dozd is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. You can watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no geo-blocking, no VPN required, cancel anytime.