Gandom Films Production is an independent nonfiction production company founded by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni.
With a shared commitment to cinematic storytelling, Gandom Films produces projects that balance artistic integrity with engaging storytelling — highlighting the nuances of human experience to speak quietly, yet powerfully to viewers globally. Their latest projects include Cutting Through Rocks, World Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
As the first elected councilwoman of her deeply conservative Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
“Precisely lensed… A deftly shaped work of cinematic nonfiction.”
— Lauren Wissot
“Uniquely propulsive… Practically magical.”
— Siddhant Adlakha
“One of those profound vérité documentaries that are only possible through the patience and perseverance of the filmmakers.”
— Barbara Goslawski
“Raucously entertaining… I was completely riveted.”
— Bilge Ebiri
“Seamlessly edited.”
— Jonathan Holland
“Beautifully crafted…celebrates the profound ways women like Shahverdi can – and do – change the world around them.”
— Sara Clements
“A film that pulses with so much hopefulness.”
— Sheri Linden
“A thought-provoking portrait of an extraordinary spirit.”
— Phuong Le
Watch the Cutting Through Rocks trailer
Press Highlights
Cutting Through Rocks Wins Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Documentary
Deadline: ‘Cutting Through Rocks’ Trailer: In Oscar-Contending Doc, Maverick Woman Defies Convention In Story That “Resonates Universally”
Sundance Grand Jury Winner Cutting Through Rocks Acquired by Autlook Ahead of Berlinale
The Guardian:
“Cutting Through Rocks review – the female firebrand fighting the patriarchy in rural Iran”
Cutting Through Rocks Wins Audience Award at Visions du Reél
Variety:
Cutting Through Rocks is “uniquely propulsive, practically magical […] Its fly-on-the-wall quality works wonders “
Cutting Through Rocks Wins Best Documentary, Gex Doc Competition at Giffoni Film Festival in Italy
Cutting Through Rocks Wins Jean-Loup Passek Award for Best Documentary Feature at MDOC in Portugal
Cutting Through Rocks an Unforgettables Honoree & Audience Choice Prize Longlist at Cinema Eye Honors
Meet the Team
SARA KHAKI
Director, Producer, Editor
Sara Khaki is an Oscar-nominated documentary director, producer, and editor dedicated to telling stories around women empowerment and gender equality. Sara is Sundance Grand Jury Award winner for her feature documentary Cutting Through Rocks, which has also received a nomination from Directors Guild of America (DGA). The film has traveled to over 100 film festivals worldwide and has won numerous awards, including audience awards at Dok Leipzig, Visions du Réel, and IDFA, among others. Described by IndieWire as “a deftly shaped work of cinematic nonfiction” and by POV Magazine as “a profound vérité documentary,” the film marks Sara’s directorial debut, which also earned an Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award from NYWIFT at Woodstock. Her IDA Award–nominated short, Our Iranian Lockdown (2020) streams on The Guardian.
A co-founder of Gandom Films Production, Sara is a Sundance Film Institute, Chicken & Egg films and Firelight Media grantee. Her work continues to amplify change on gender equality through cinema verite form.
Sara holds a BFA in Cinematic Arts from the University of Maryland and an MFA in Social Documentary Filmmaking from the School of Visual Arts.
MOHAMMADREZA EYNI
Director, Producer, Director of Cinematography
Mohammadreza Eyni is an Oscar-nominated director, producer, and cinematographer whose work bridges boundaries and connects diverse global perspectives. He is a Sundance Grand Jury Award winner for Cutting Through Rocks, which has also won audience awards at IDFA, Dok Leipzig, Warsaw, Sydney Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, and Visions du Réel, among others. A Directors Guild of America (DGA) nominee, Mohammadreza’s cinematic approach has been praised as “uniquely propulsive,” “practically magical” (Variety), and “delivering simple moments into cinematic poetry” (Hammer to Nail). His intimate short film Our Iranian Lockdown (The Guardian) received an IDA Award nomination.
Mohammadreza was named one of the top five cinematographers at Sundance 2025 and has been supported by Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance, IDFA Bertha Foundation, and Hot Docs Cross Current Doc Fund. He holds an MFA in Cinema from Tehran University of Fine Arts.
Previous Films
Convergence: Courage in a Crisis
While COVID-19 exacerbates vulnerabilities across the world, unsung heroes in all levels of society help the tide turn toward a brighter future.
Gandom Films Production's collaboration on Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was in partnership with Story Syndicate, a U.S. based Oscar- and Emmy-winning production company, and Grain Media, a BAFTA- and Oscar-Winning film company based in the U.K.
Our Iranian Lockdown
In this Guardian Documentary, a filmmaking duo turn the camera on themselves and capture their lives in lockdown. In this in intimate portrait, filmed over several weeks in quarantine in Tehran, Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni attempt to process the devastating loss of a family member to COVID-19. As they approach the Persian new year, usually a time of family reunion, the couple find hope and happiness in the traditional rituals that mark the spring equinox.