In a remote Iranian village where tradition stipulates that a “woman should live with her husband or father,” Sara Shahverdi–a former midwife and motorcycle-riding divorcée who lives alone–flouts convention to become the first elected female councilor. As she mentors girls, challenges child marriage, and confronts entrenched systems of power, Cutting Through Rocks observes, with rare intimacy, the personal cost and political stakes of insisting on change.
With remarkable patience and formal restraint, directors Eyni and Khaki turn a local political struggle into a dynamic study of entrenched power and gender inequity. Sara Shahverdi emerges as an unforgettable presence, her determination and resolve marshaling hope in the face of systemic oppression.
“[Sara Shahverdi’s] steeliness and strength are magnificent, but it’s her equanimity that delivers the film’s most powerful jolt.”
Sheri Linden NY Times 20/11/2025
Grand Jury Award for World Documentary Competition, Sundance Film Festival, 2025, us
Audience Award in the Wide Angle Competition, Visions du Réel, 2025, ch
NPO Doc IDFA Audience Award, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, 2025, nl
Gryphon Award for Best Film, GEX Doc - Giffoni Film Festival, 2025, it
Golden Dove for Documentary, Leipzig DOK Festival, 2025, de
Best Documentary Feature and NYWIFT Award for Excellence in Directing, Woodstock Film Festival, 2025, us
The Unforgettables, Cinema Eye Honors Awards, 2026, us
Best First Feature Award, Newport Beach Film Festival, 2025, us
Free Spirit Award, Warsaw International Film Festival, 2025, pl
Audience Award & Special Mention Jury Prize, New Zealand International Film Festival, 2025, nz
Sara KHAKI
Sara Khaki is an Iranian-American director, producer, and editor. She earned her MFA in Cinematic Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and an MFA from the New York’s School of Visual Arts in Social Documentary Filmmaking. A co-founder of Gandom Films Production with Mohammadreza Eyni, her work includes the Netflix documentary Convergence, which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Her feature-length documentary Cutting Through Rocks, co-directed with Eyni, has earned international recognition and major festival awards.
Mohammadreza Eyni is an Iranian director, producer, and cinematographer. He holds an MFA in Cinema from Tehran University of Fine Arts and is an alumnus of Tribeca Film Institue. A co-founder of Gandom Films Production with Sara Khaki, his work includes the Netflix documentary Convergence which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. His feature-length documentary Cutting Through Rocks, co-directed with Khaki, has earned international recognition and major festival awards.
