Director: Shahed Ahmadlou
Cast: Behrang Alavi, Houman Barghnavard, Nasim Adabi, Mina Vahid, Shahram Ghaedi
Shah Naghsh is a 2025 Iranian drama-comedy directed by Shahed Ahmadlou, following two veteran film extras whose rivalry over a guild presidency throws their working-class world into gentle chaos. At ninety minutes, the film balances warm humor with honest observations about ambition, friendship, and dignity inside the margins of the Iranian cinema industry.
What is Shah Naghsh about?
Shahab and Nasser have spent years as background performers — the unnamed faces filling crowds in countless productions. When elections open up for the leadership of the Cinema Artists Guild, both men decide to throw their hats in the ring, suddenly transforming colleagues into competitors. The campaign draws in neighbors, spouses, and fellow extras, each with their own stake in who ends up in charge. What begins as a modest power struggle gradually reveals deeper questions about respect, recognition, and what it means to matter in an industry that rarely stops to notice the people standing just out of frame. The film uses the election as a lens to examine loyalty under pressure and the quiet pride of those who have always worked behind the spotlight.
Cast & crew
Director Shahed Ahmadlou shapes the story around a strong ensemble led by Behrang Alavi and Houman Barghnavard as the sparring candidates. Nasim Adabi, Mina Vahid, Shahram Ghaedi, Pejman Bazeghi, and Sirous Meymanat fill out the community of extras and guild members, each bringing a distinct texture to the world Ahmadlou builds around them.
Context & significance
Iranian social comedies have long used workplace and community settings to explore class dynamics with warmth rather than bitterness, and Shah Naghsh fits squarely in that tradition. For diaspora viewers, the film offers a portrait of everyday Tehran life that feels lived-in and specific — the kind of story that rarely travels internationally but resonates deeply with audiences who know the rhythms of Iranian professional culture. The cinema-guild backdrop also makes it a quietly self-aware piece: a film about the invisible labor that holds the film industry together, told with affection for the people doing that labor. Family viewers will find it accessible; drama fans will appreciate its understated emotional register.
Where & how to watch
Shah Naghsh is available on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Stream it on the web, on your Android TV or smart TV, or on your phone — no geo-blocking, no VPN needed. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.