Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Cast: Mahnaz Afshar, Pegah Ahangarani, Taraneh Alidoosti

Shirin+ is a 2008 Iranian drama film directed by Abbas Kiarostami, presenting a radically observational cinematic experience in which the audience watches an audience — specifically, the faces of women as they view a classical Persian love story on screen.

What is Shirin+ about?

The film places its camera entirely on the faces of female viewers seated in a darkened cinema. These women — ranging in age and disposition — are responding to a staging of the medieval Persian narrative of Khosrow and Shirin, a tale of royal love and longing drawn from Nezami Ganjavi's twelfth-century poem. The viewer never sees the film within the film; instead, every emotion — sorrow, absorption, quiet reflection — is read through facial expression alone. Sound design and an off-screen narration carry the unseen story, while the women on screen become the primary subject. The result is a meditation on the act of watching, on storytelling as an emotional mirror, and on how audiences receive and inhabit fiction.

Cast & crew

Kiarostami assembled a cast of prominent Iranian actresses for this project, including Mahnaz Afshar, Pegah Ahangarani, and Taraneh Alidoosti. Each performer appears without dialogue, conveying their character's inner state entirely through expression and presence. The director, Abbas Kiarostami, is one of the most internationally recognized figures in Iranian cinema.

Context & significance

Kiarostami built his career on films that examine perception, reality, and the boundaries between fiction and observation. Shirin+ fits squarely into that body of work, turning the cinema screen itself into a subject of inquiry. For Iranian diaspora audiences, the film carries additional resonance: the Khosrow and Shirin story is a cornerstone of Persian literary culture, familiar from childhood education and oral tradition. Watching celebrated Iranian actresses respond to that story connects viewers to a shared cultural inheritance that geography has not erased. The film's 92-minute runtime is unhurried and rewards patient, attentive viewing.

Where & how to watch

Shirin+ is available on K-Time. The film is in original Persian audio with no dubbed version. Watch on your browser, connected TV, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, cancel anytime.