Short Film · 2025 · Tehran, Iran

Mandala

A psychological drama about people who breathe, but have long since stopped living.

DirectorBehnam Khosravi
GenrePsychological Drama
FormatSingle Location
ProductionSeven Sky (Sona Sky)

Trailer

Awards & Recognition

Award Winner

Accolade Global Film Competition

MANDALA has won an award from the Accolade Global Film Competition — a U.S.-based juried competition built specifically for independent storytellers, drawing entries from filmmakers in more than seventy countries. Running since 2003 and named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the festivals worth the entry fee, Accolade is IMDb-qualified, and past honorees have gone on to receive Oscar, Emmy, and Telly recognition.

Visit Accolade Read the full story on the blog →

Synopsis

MANDALA is a three-character psychological drama set within a single minimalist, surreal location. A challenging cinematic form — its focus rests entirely on the depth of performance, dramatic tension, and the dynamic of its script.

"A story of people who appear to be alive and breathing, but have long been considered dead inside."

The film places its hand on a sensitive nerve of individual psychology: the story of people who, upon losing their greatest dream, hope, and the very measure of their existence, arrive at this point of collapse and inner death.

The convergence of the writer-director's ethics-driven thinking with his background as a legal scholar and author of personal development books — his precise, structured, justice-oriented perspective — has been injected directly into the cinematic language of MANDALA, creating an atmosphere that is deeply compelling, layered, and distinctly original.

Focusing on the complex layers of the human mind, MANDALA renders a psychological narrative that touches on a profound concept of human psychic life. The film was produced with a highly professional crew and experienced figures from Iranian cinema, aimed from the outset at international festival participation.

Read the full post about MANDALA on the blog →

Cast & Crew

Writer · Director · Actor

Behnam Khosravi

In addition to writing the screenplay and directing the project, Khosravi also appears as one of the three principal cast members. A trained lawyer and active author in literature and psychology.

Lead Actress

Malihe Rahmani

A skilled actress who plays a key role, carrying a significant portion of the dramatic and psychological weight of the single-location film.

Lead Actress

Afroz Afshar

Her performance completes the complex human relationships in this work, playing a significant role in advancing the psychological tensions of the film.

Director of Photography

Keyvan Shabani

Shabani's cinematographic approach and innovative lighting played a key role in conveying the inner sense of confinement and the psychological atmosphere of the work.

Executive Producer

Ehsan Mousavian

Overseeing logistics, intensive pre-production coordination, and optimal management of the financial and human resources of the professional MANDALA team.

Production Coordinator

Reyhaneh Amini

Precise scheduling of filming sessions and coherent coordination between technical crew and cast to ensure the uninterrupted progress of the project.

Festival & Distribution

MANDALA was produced with the aim of participating in prestigious international film festivals. Having already received recognition at the Accolade Global Film Competition, an official selection at the Pune Film Festival in India, and an award at the Stay Gold Film Festival, the film now targets Category A international festivals.

The project is executed by Seven Sky (Sona Sky), an international institute under the direction of Shahab Hosseini — a celebrated artist and Cannes Award winner. International distribution and release strategy is managed under the same institute by Kamran Mohammadi.

With this team's international approach, MANDALA is expected to soon begin its successful journey through the world's top-tier festivals.