Movies like Septembers of Shiraz (2015)
The best movies like Septembers of Shiraz (2015) are Not Without My Daughter (1991), The Operative (2019) and A Dry White Season (1989). If Septembers of Shiraz hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Hate U Give (2018)8.1/10 from 2,266 votes
- NewestBorley Rectory: The Awakening (2026)Released 2026
Not Without My Daughter (1991)
An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Operative (2019)
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEscape from Pretoria (2020)
South Africa, 1978. Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white political activists from the African National Congress imprisoned by the apartheid regime, put a plan in motion to escape from the infamous Pretoria Prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoom (2015)
Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Red Sea Diving Resort (2019)
Sudan, East Africa, 1980. A team of Israeli Mossad agents plans to rescue and transfer thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. To do so, and to avoid raising suspicions from the inquisitive and ruthless authorities, they establish as a cover a fake diving resort by the Red Sea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeave the World Behind (2023)
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices—and two strangers appear at their door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColdwater (2013)
A teenage boy is sent to a juvenile reform facility in the wilderness. As we learn about the tragic events that sent him there, his struggle becomes one for survival with the inmates, counselors, and the retired war colonel in charge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Finale (2018)
In 1960, a team of Israeli secret agents is deployed to find Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust, supposedly hidden in Argentina, and get him to Israel to be judged.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnniversary (2025)
A close-knit family is caught in the turmoil of a controversial rising movement known as "The Change.” Ellen and Paul witness their lives fall apart when Ellen's former student Liz reappears and starts dating their son. As Liz becomes a part of the Taylor family, tensions rise and loyalties are tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreedom Writers (2007)
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Pawnbroker (1965)
A Jewish pawnbroker, a victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Stoning of Soraya M. (2009)
In 1986 Iran, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village, enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant ended in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hate U Give (2018)
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisConspiracy (2001)
At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdam Resurrected (2008)
After again attempting to commit murder, a Jewish man with a mysterious past and extraordinary intelligence, charisma, and body control returns to an insane asylum, where he makes a startling discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Basement (2021)
Sara is a teen girl who is looking forward to her 18th birthday to move away from her controlling father Don. But before she could even blow out the candles, Don imprisons her in the basement of their home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Marsh King's Daughter (2023)
Helena, a woman living a seemingly ordinary life, hides a dark secret—her father is the infamous 'Marsh King', the man who kept her and her mother captive in the wilderness for years. After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, Helena is forced to face her demons when her father unexpectedly escapes from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Express (1978)
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady Joker (2004)
Men and women caught up in a downward spiral of corruption, discrimination, poverty and death are the focus of this detective-thriller/social-drama inspired by the unsolved 1984 kidnapping of a Japanese candy company president.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Ned Kelly (1970)
Unable to support his family in the Australian outback, a man turns to stealing horses in order to make money. He gets more deeply drawn into the outlaw life, and eventually becomes involved in murders. Based on the life of famed 19th-century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rockers (2003)
Guitarist Ko-chan is a mess of sexual repression after a childhood at the mercy of two elder sisters eager to use him as a guinea pig for their make-up skills. Bassist Gaku-chan keeps a bucket in the wings for whenever his nerves get the better of him, and drummer Momo-chan is doomed to forever carrying the botched childhood attempts at self-tattooing. It's not until this foursome is forced to look for an additional guitar player after Jin's dad burns his Stratocaster, that attitude and musical ability enter into the equation. Leather-clad, shade-wearing Tani (Tamaki), inseparable from his black Les Paul, is introduced as the king of R'n'R cool and Jinnai keeps him firmly seated on his throne throughout the film, retroactively proclaiming the guitarist, rather than himself, as the band's true hero.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
McVicar (1980)
John McVicar was a London Bad Boy. he graduated to armed bank robbery and was Britain's "Public Enemy No. 1". He was captured and put into a high security prison. Will even the highest security prison be able to hold him? This is the true story of his life, his criminal exploits and his eventual rehabilitation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorley Rectory: The Awakening (2026)
In 1900, young Reverend Henry Bull and his sister, Kitty, are tasked with taking over the duties of their family home in Essex, a majestic Victorian mansion built on the site of an old monastery. Unaware of the sinister forces that lurk within, the pair are soon confronted by terrifying paranormal activities that threaten their loved ones. Desperate to protect themselves from the demonic intrusion, they call upon the services of a trusted family friend to investigate the origins of the vengeful ghosts which haunt their property. But these are spirits who will not rest, and Borley Rectory is doomed to gain a chilling reputation, as the most haunted house in all of Britain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Padu (2024)
The story of the reliability of the Malaysian Women's Basketball team which has collected 13 gold medals from 20 SEA Games tournaments since 1977.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Judy (2019)
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave Without Boundaries (2026)
Based on the true story of Luo Shengjiao — one of “100 Touching Chinese Figures” since the founding of the PRC. During the Korean War, Luo, a company clerk, and his fellow volunteers fought fierce battles, endured extreme shortages, and braved brutal cold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Countess Dracula (1971)
Hungary, XVII century. After being widowed, the old countess Elizabeth Nádasdy, of the Báthory lineage, fortunately discovers a way to become young again; but the price to be paid by those around her will be high and bloody.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGie (2005)
Indonesian activist Soe Hok Gie experiences a political awakening during the tumultuous regimes of Soeharto and Soekarno.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Septembers of Shiraz?
The closest matches to Septembers of Shiraz are Not Without My Daughter (1991), The Operative (2019) and A Dry White Season (1989). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Septembers of Shiraz?
Start with Not Without My Daughter (1991), the closest match to Septembers of Shiraz.
What is the highest-rated movie like Septembers of Shiraz?
The Hate U Give (2018), rated 8.1/10 by 2,266 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Septembers of Shiraz?
Borley Rectory: The Awakening (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Septembers of Shiraz?
Yes: Not Without My Daughter (1991), The Operative (2019) and A Dry White Season (1989).
How are movies similar to Septembers of Shiraz chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Septembers of Shiraz, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.