Desert Dancer

Desert Dancer (2014) is a British drama you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Richard Raymond and based on the true story of Afshin Ghaffarian, an Iranian man who taught himself dance through YouTube videos in a country where the art form is officially banned.

Rhys Ritchie plays Afshin, Frida Pinto plays Elaheh — a dancer battling addiction who joins the small underground troupe Afshin assembles. Tom Cullen and Nazanin Boniadi round out a cast navigating rehearsals in abandoned buildings and performances held far from city centres, culminating in a show staged in open desert under complete secrecy.

Raymond keeps the film rooted in physical stakes rather than inspirational abstraction. The screenplay draws directly on Ghaffarian's memoir; he fled after the 2009 Green Revolution protests and was granted asylum in France. It's an account of what people build quietly when the law forbids it — and what those things cost. Stream Desert Dancer online on iFILM.