Director: Pouya Saeedi
Cast: Negar Javaherian
Sheyhe is a 2023 Iranian short film directed by Pouya Saeedi, starring Negar Javaherian. Running just twenty minutes, it constructs a quiet, intimate encounter between two strangers in a residential courtyard and uses that small space to unfold something much larger — a secret that reorders everything we thought we understood.
What is Sheyhe about?
Inside the shared courtyard of an apartment complex, a pregnant woman and a young boy cross paths unexpectedly. The boy's toy has broken, and the woman, out of simple kindness, invites him inside her home to help repair it. What begins as an ordinary gesture of neighborly warmth gradually shifts as the boy picks up on details about the woman's private life that she has not chosen to share. The film holds its revelation quietly, letting silence and glances carry the weight. Nothing is explained outright; the audience is left to sit with what the boy now knows and what the woman may never realize he has discovered. Saeedi keeps the drama small in scale but precise in feeling — two people, one space, one secret slowly coming into focus.
Cast & crew
Director Pouya Saeedi brings a measured, observational eye to the material, allowing meaning to emerge from gesture and environment rather than dialogue. Lead actress Negar Javaherian, one of Iranian cinema's most respected performers, brings genuine physical and emotional presence to the role of the pregnant woman, grounding the film's tension in quiet, credible naturalism.
Context & significance
Short films occupy a vital but often underappreciated corner of Iranian cinema, and Sheyhe is representative of the tradition at its most focused. Iranian short filmmaking has long been a proving ground for directors working within tight constraints — both financial and thematic — to find concentrated, precise stories. A pregnant woman at the center of a domestic secret carries resonance within the broader landscape of Iranian social cinema, which has repeatedly returned to the domestic sphere as a space where unspoken pressures and private lives collide. For diaspora viewers familiar with that tradition through feature-length work, Sheyhe offers a reminder that twenty minutes can be enough to say something that lingers. It is the kind of film that rewards a second viewing.
Where & how to watch
Sheyhe is available on K-Time with original Persian audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, cancel anytime. No extra download required to start watching right now.