Short film production in Iran has a long and continuous history that dates back to the earliest years of the introduction of cinema to the country. From the very beginning, short films were produced and screened alongside other cinematic forms, gradually establishing their own identity and function within the broader landscape of Iranian cinema. Over time, and particularly after the Islamic Revolution, short cinema in Iran not only survived but expanded in both quantity and quality, benefiting from institutional support, film schools, independent production contexts, and the growing presence of film festivals. As a result, Iranian short films have increasingly gained visibility and recognition at national and international levels, becoming an important site for aesthetic experimentation, narrative innovation, and thematic exploration. Film scholars, critics, and cinema experts have extensively examined Iranian cinema, especially feature-length films, from various perspectives including realism, authorship, ideology, social representation, and cultural identity. In recent decades, some attention has also been paid to short films, particularly those that have achieved notable success in festivals or have introduced emerging filmmakers who later transitioned into feature filmmaking. Nevertheless, despite this growing interest, analytical studies of Iranian short cinema have largely focused on themes, visual style, or socio-political implications, while the issue of narrative structure has remained relatively underexplored. Specifically, narratological analysis of Iranian short films has received limited scholarly attention, leading to a noticeable theoretical and methodological gap in existing research. Narrative plays a central role in cinema as a system through which meaning is produced, organized, and communicated to the spectator. This role becomes even more crucial in short films, where limited duration requires narrative economy, precision, and a high level of structural efficiency. Short films must establish situations, develop conflicts, and convey meanings within a condensed timeframe, which often results in distinctive narrative strategies. Despite this, the narrative mechanisms governing Iranian short films have not been systematically studied, and there is insufficient research that identifies dominant narrative patterns or examines how these films organize storytelling processes. This lack of focused analysis has created a gap not only in academic discourse but also in the practical understanding of short film narration among filmmakers and students of cinema. The present research is grounded in the assumption that a careful narratological examination of Iranian short films can significantly contribute to both theoretical knowledge and practical filmmaking. By identifying and analyzing recurring narrative models, such research can help increase filmmakers’ awareness of narrative possibilities and constraints specific to the short film format. Moreover, understanding how narration functions in successful short films may lead to the strengthening of narrative competence, the enhancement of storytelling strategies, and ultimately the improvement of the overall quality of short film production in Iran. From this perspective, the study adopts an applied orientation and seeks to address an existing scientific gap through systematic analysis.The theoretical framework of this research is based on the narratological approach proposed by David Bordwell, particularly as articulated in his book Narration in the Fiction Film. Bordwell conceptualizes narration as a dynamic process that organizes the flow of information and guides the spectator’s cognitive activity in constructing the story. Rather than viewing narrative as a fixed structure, he emphasizes the interaction between plot construction, stylistic systems, and the viewer’s interpretive efforts. Bordwell classifies cinematic narration into two broad tendencies, classical and modernist, and further identifies four main modes of narration: classical narration, art-cinema narration, materialist narration, and parametric narration. Each of these modes is defined through specific relationships among causality, character motivation, temporal organization, stylistic prominence, and narrative closure. Although Bordwell’s narrational models were originally developed in relation to feature-length narrative cinema, this study argues that they are highly applicable to short films as well. In fact, the condensed nature of short cinema often makes narrative strategies more visible and pronounced, as filmmakers must rely on efficient storytelling mechanisms to communicate meaning within a limited timeframe. Short films may employ classical causality to ensure narrative clarity, or they may draw on modernist ambiguity to provoke interpretation, or they may combine elements of both approaches. Consequently, Bordwell’s framework provides a productive analytical tool for examining how narration operates in Iranian short films and how different narrative modes are adapted to the specific conditions of short cinematic form. The main research problem addressed in this study is the identification and analysis of dominant narrative patterns in Iranian short cinema after the Islamic Revolution. The study seeks to answer the question of which narrational modes are most frequently employed in Iranian short films and how these modes function in relation to story construction, character development, and spectator engagement. By focusing on post-revolutionary short films, the research situates its analysis within a period marked by significant cultural, institutional, and aesthetic transformations in Iranian cinema. Methodologically, the research adopts a qualitative approach with a descriptive-analytical orientation. Data collection is based on library research, including theoretical texts on film narration, scholarly articles on cinema studies, and critical writings on Iranian film. The analytical phase relies on case study analysis, through which selected short films are examined in detail based on Bordwell’s narrational categories. This approach allows for an in-depth exploration of narrative mechanisms and facilitates a nuanced understanding of how abstract theoretical concepts are manifested in concrete cinematic works. Among the numerous Iranian short films produced after the Islamic Revolution, two films were selected for detailed analysis: Animal (2017) and The Child Eater (2018). These films were chosen due to their critical acclaim, success at national and international film festivals, and recognition by both critics and audiences. Additionally, both films exhibit distinctive narrative features that make them suitable for narratological analysis. Their selection enables the study to focus on representative and influential examples of contemporary Iranian short cinema rather than marginal or experimental cases with limited circulation. The analysis of these films concentrates on key narratological elements such as plot organization, causal logic, character motivation, temporal structure, point of view, and the distribution of narrative information. Special attention is paid to how each film guides the spectator’s interpretive process and how narrative clarity or ambiguity is constructed through cinematic means. The findings indicate that both films predominantly rely on classical narrative principles, including goal-oriented characters, cause-and-effect relationships, and relatively coherent plot progression. However, these classical structures are often combined with elements associated with modernist or art-cinema narration, such as open-ended conclusions, psychological opacity, and symbolic imagery. In Animal, for instance, the narrative is structured around a clear conflict and a recognizable causal chain, yet the film deliberately withholds certain motivations and moral judgments, encouraging the spectator to actively participate in meaning construction. Similarly, The Child Eater employs a largely linear narrative framework while integrating metaphorical and symbolic elements that resist definitive interpretation. In both cases, the films do not abandon classical narration but rather modify and enrich it through selective incorporation of modernist strategies. The overall findings of the research suggest that narration in Iranian short cinema is predominantly classical or hybrid in nature, combining classical and modernist modes. Purely materialist or parametric narration, as defined by Bordwell, appears less frequently in the examined films. This tendency can be attributed to the communicative demands of short films, particularly within the context of film festivals, where narrative intelligibility and audience engagement play a crucial role. Short filmmakers often rely on familiar narrative frameworks to establish quick connections with spectators while simultaneously introducing ambiguity or stylistic innovation to achieve artistic distinction. At the same time, the study demonstrates that Iranian short films do not simply replicate classical narrative models borrowed from mainstream cinema. Instead, they adapt these models to local cultural, social, and aesthetic contexts, producing hybrid narrative forms that balance clarity with openness and economy with depth. This adaptive use of narration reflects broader tendencies within Iranian cinema, where storytelling often negotiates between accessibility and artistic expression. In conclusion, this research highlights the importance of narratological analysis in understanding Iranian short cinema and addresses a significant gap in existing scholarship. By applying David Bordwell’s narrative theory to selected case studies, the study provides a structured framework for analyzing narrative patterns in short films and offers insights into the dominant narrational strategies employed after the Islamic Revolution. The findings underscore the prevalence of classical and hybrid narrative forms and suggest that systematic narrative analysis can contribute to both academic research and practical filmmaking. Through increased awareness of narrative mechanisms, filmmakers and scholars alike can gain a deeper understanding of how short films construct meaning and engage spectators within limited temporal constraints.