Kiarash Dadgar

Cutlet

Kiarash Dadgar is an Iranian-Canadian actor and filmmaker based in Toronto. His work explores themes of death, migration, aging, and the quiet violence embedded in everyday life. With a minimalist visual language and a strong focus on performance and mise-en-scène, he creates emotionally contained yet politically resonant stories. Kiarash holds an MFA in Film from York University and a background in dramatic literature, which informs his character-driven approach to storytelling. Moving between directing and acting, he is drawn to intimate narratives that examine memory, displacement, and the unseen tensions within family life.

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

CUTLET - NARRATIVE SHORT FILM

After their grandmother’s sudden death, an Iranian immigrant family in Toronto gathers around a plate of cutlets she had prepared shortly before she passed away, unsure whether to eat them or preserve them as the last trace of her presence. As the debate unfolds, buried tensions about grief, tradition, and belonging quietly surface.