Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Cast: Tahmineh Normatova, Nadereh Abdelahyeva, Goibibi Ziadolahyeva
Sokoot is a 1998 Iranian-French-Tajik drama and music film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, following a blind boy in Tajikistan whose extraordinary sensitivity to sound shapes every moment of his day and brings him into conflict between his duties and his overwhelming love of music.
What is Sokoot about?
A young blind boy named Khorshid lives in a modest neighborhood in Tajikistan, working as an instrument tuner to help support his struggling family. Every day he faces the same dilemma: the city's sounds — street musicians, market melodies, distant songs — pull him off course before he can reach his workplace. His repeated tardiness puts his job at serious risk, and losing it could mean eviction for his family. The film traces his daily journey as he navigates a world constructed entirely from sound, where beauty and responsibility are in constant, gentle tension.
Cast & crew
The film is directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the acclaimed Iranian filmmaker known for poetic, visually contemplative works. Lead actress Tahmineh Normatova portrays a key figure in Khorshid's life, joined by Nadereh Abdelahyeva and Goibibi Ziadolahyeva, both drawn from the local Tajik community, lending the film an authentic, documentary-like quality.
Context & significance
Sokoot occupies a distinctive place in Iranian cinema's engagement with Central Asia and the broader Persian-speaking world. Shot on location in Tajikistan, it reflects Makhmalbaf's long interest in the lives of ordinary people across the former Soviet Persian belt. For diaspora viewers, the film resonates as a meditation on sensory experience, poverty, and the irresistible pull of art — themes that cut across borders and generations. Its near-silent stretches and musical texture reward patient, attentive viewing, making it a quietly powerful entry in 1990s world cinema.
Where & how to watch
Sokoot is available on K-Time with original audio and no Persian dubbing or subtitles in this edition. Watch on the web browser, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, and cancel anytime.