10 More Best Iranian Movies

By Vlad Zakh · November 27, 2025

Iran Arthouse slow and atmospheric thought provoking

Iranian filmmakers keep working under censorship that would stop most industries cold, and several of these were made by directors formally banned from filmmaking, which says plenty about how much still gets said. The Apple follows twin girls locked indoors for years meeting the outside world, 3 Faces sends an actress and a director after a video of a girl in trouble, and Offside has girls dressed as boys trying to enter a banned football match. No Bears, A Hero, The Circle, Crimson Gold, The Song of Sparrows, There Is No Evil and Leila’s Brothers round out the list.

The Apple (1998)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Twin girls kept locked indoors for years experience the outside world for the first time on camera.

Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf · 1h 22m

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

3 Faces (2018)

TMDB ★ 7.0

A famous actress and a film director investigate a video of a young girl who says she is about to end her life.

Directed by Jafar Panahi · 1h 40m

Where to watch

Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

No Bears (2022)

TMDB ★ 7.0

A filmmaker directing remotely from a border village gets pulled into a real local scandal.

Directed by Jafar Panahi · 1h 47m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Offside (2006)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Girls disguised as boys try to sneak into a World Cup qualifying match banned to women.

Directed by Jafar Panahi · 1h 33m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Circle (2000)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Several women navigate a single day of Iran's restrictions on their freedom, each handing the story to the next.

Directed by Jafar Panahi · 1h 31m

Where to watch

Stream: Metrograph

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Crimson Gold (2003)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A pizza delivery driver's humiliations build towards one desperate, doomed robbery.

Directed by Jafar Panahi · 1h 36m

Where to watch

Stream: Fandor, OVID, Metrograph · Rent or buy: Amazon Video

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Song of Sparrows (2008)

TMDB ★ 7.4

An ostrich-farm worker's life changes after a job in the city exposes him to a very different world.

Directed by Majid Majidi · 1h 36m

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

There Is No Evil (2020)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Four linked stories look at ordinary Iranians forced into carrying out the death penalty.

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof · 2h 31m

Where to watch

Stream: Kino Film Collection · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Leila's Brothers (2022)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A working daughter tries to hold her family together as her brothers chase a doomed inheritance scheme.

Directed by Saeed Roustaee · 2h 45m

Where to watch

Stream: MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Hero (2021)

TMDB ★ 7.1

A prisoner's good deed goes viral, then falls apart under public scrutiny.

Directed by Asghar Farhadi · 2h 07m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

10 More Best Iranian Movies

The Apple (1998)

3 Faces (2018)

No Bears (2022)

Offside (2006)

The Circle (2000)

Crimson Gold (2003)

The Song of Sparrows (2008)

There Is No Evil (2020)

Leila's Brothers (2022)

A Hero (2021)

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