Director: Ali Shah Hatami

Cast: Nima Sha'aban-Nejad, Anahita Dargahi, Mohammad Bohrani, Hooman Hajabdollahi, Majid Mozaffari

Turquz Abad is a 2023 Iranian comedy-drama film directed by Ali Shah Hatami, running 91 minutes and set in the fictional small town of Turquz Abad. The story weaves together a community's tangled web of white lies, social pretense, and the comic fallout that erupts when the truth refuses to stay buried.

What is Turquz Abad about?

In the provincial town of Turquz Abad, a chain of small deceptions sets off a cascade of misunderstandings among neighbors, friends, and family members who each believe they are managing their secrets discreetly. When these overlapping cover stories begin colliding, the residents find themselves scrambling to keep their carefully constructed facades intact. What begins as mundane social maneuvering escalates into increasingly absurd situations, exposing the gap between how people present themselves to the world and who they actually are. The film observes its ensemble cast with a warm, ironic eye, building its comedy from the universal human instinct to avoid awkward truths at almost any cost.

Cast & crew

Director Ali Shah Hatami leads an ensemble headlined by Nima Sha'aban-Nejad and Anahita Dargahi in the central roles, with Mohammad Bohrani, Hooman Hajabdollahi, Majid Mozaffari, Sima Tirandaz, Majid Potki, and Armin Toopchi filling out the broad community portrait that gives the film its social texture.

Context & significance

Iranian ensemble comedies rooted in small-town or neighborhood dynamics have a long tradition in Persian cinema, from the comic realism of earlier decades through to contemporary social satires that use humor to poke at everyday hypocrisy and communal pressure. Turquz Abad sits comfortably in this lineage, offering diaspora viewers a recognizable portrait of the social dynamics many grew up navigating — the pressure to keep up appearances, the intricate dance of politeness and avoidance, the way a single unspoken truth can ripple outward. For Persian-speaking audiences abroad, these stories carry a particular resonance, serving as both nostalgia and gentle comedy of recognition.

Where & how to watch

Turquz Abad is available on K-Time with its original Persian audio — no Persian dub or Persian subtitles are included. Stream it on the web, your TV, or your Android phone with no VPN needed and no geo-blocking. Subscribe and cancel anytime.