Director: Parviz Shahbazi
Cast: Negar Javaherian, Houman Seyedi, Tannaz Tabatabaie, Hoda Zeynolabedin, Mehrdad Sedighiyan
Tala is a 2020 Iranian drama film directed by Parviz Shahbazi, running 83 minutes and centered on a man named Mansour who finds himself entangled in a web of family obligation, economic hardship, and compromised morality in contemporary Tehran.
What is Tala about?
Mansour is a middle-aged man whose life appears unremarkable until a chance arrangement pulls him into a joint venture with three strangers. What begins as an opportunity for financial relief quickly spirals into a series of uncomfortable choices — choices that test his loyalty to his family and reveal the quiet desperation beneath everyday Iranian life. When a visit to his brother's daughter draws him deeper into a situation involving a restaurant business and personal boundaries he had not anticipated crossing, Mansour must reckon with who he is and what he is willing to sacrifice. Shahbazi's film refuses easy answers, letting social pressures and private longing collide without resolution.
Cast & crew
Director Parviz Shahbazi is one of Iran's quietly respected voices in realist social drama, known for intimate character portraits. The ensemble is anchored by Negar Javaherian, one of contemporary Iranian cinema's most versatile actresses, alongside Houman Seyedi, Tannaz Tabatabaie, Hoda Zeynolabedin, Mehrdad Sedighiyan, and Ehteram Broumand — a cast that brings lived-in naturalism to every scene.
Context & significance
Iranian social drama of the 2020s frequently turns its lens on the pressures squeezing the middle class: housing costs, family expectations, and the moral compromises that accumulate quietly over a lifetime. Tala fits squarely in this tradition — films that find their drama not in grand spectacle but in ordinary rooms and ordinary conversations. For diaspora viewers, this register carries a particular weight: it mirrors the family dynamics and economic tensions many left behind, or carried with them. Shahbazi's restrained style invites you to read between the lines, to feel the unspoken rather than be told what to feel.
Where & how to watch
Tala is available on K-Time with Persian subtitles. Stream it on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking. Subscribe and cancel anytime.