Director: Sirus Alvand

Cast: Mohammad Reza Golzar, Amin Haiaiy, Mahnaz Afshar, Mahchehreh Khalili, Sahar Zakaria

Taleh is a 2005 Iranian drama film directed by Sirus Alvand, starring Mohammad Reza Golzar and Mahnaz Afshar. The film examines how the weight of a hidden past can shatter the promise of a new beginning, unfolding over a single, tension-filled night in the life of a newlywed couple.

What is Taleh about?

The story begins on the wedding night of a young Iranian couple, a moment that should mark the start of something hopeful. Their celebration is interrupted when an anonymous telephone call arrives, carrying a voice from long ago. That voice carries knowledge of events the couple buried and believed forgotten — choices, debts, and acts from a darker chapter of their lives. As the night progresses, the pair must confront the reality that no amount of distance or optimism can permanently erase what has been done. The film builds its tension quietly, using the intimacy of a single location and one fateful evening to expose the fragility of fresh starts when the past refuses to stay buried.

Cast & crew

Director Sirus Alvand brings a measured, interior style to the material. Mohammad Reza Golzar, one of Iranian cinema's most recognizable leading men, anchors the film alongside Mahnaz Afshar, whose dramatic range adds emotional credibility to the couple's unraveling. Amin Haiaiy and Mahchehreh Khalili round out the principal cast, while Sahar Zakaria also appears in a supporting role.

Context & significance

Iranian social dramas of the early 2000s frequently returned to a recurring theme: the collision between the optimism of new life stages and the unresolved weight of personal history. Taleh fits squarely within this tradition. For diaspora viewers, the film resonates on an additional level — many Iranian families who left during periods of upheaval understand intimately how the past travels with you regardless of geography. The wedding-night setting, deeply symbolic in Persian culture, amplifies the stakes, transforming what should be a celebration into a reckoning. The film offers a quiet but pointed look at guilt, complicity, and whether reinvention is ever truly possible.

Where & how to watch

Taleh is available to stream on K-Time in its original Persian audio. Watch on the web, your TV, or your phone — no VPN required, no geo-blocking, and no extra download needed. Start a subscription and cancel anytime.