As the first elected councilwoman of her deeply conservative Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi — a divorced, motorcycle riding, former midwife — stands out. Tenacious and not easily intimidated, Sara is determined to uplift her community and put an end to the empty promises and laziness perpetuated by local councilmen over the years. But it is as an advocate for the girls and women in her village where she encounters the greatest opposition.
Among other things, she 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.
“An unforgettable portrait of an Iranian woman pushing back on patriarchal constraints”
“A sharp documentary… Precisely lensed… A deftly shaped work of cinematic nonfiction”
“One of those profound vérité documentaries that are only possible through the patience and perseverance of the filmmakers”
“Uniquely propulsive… Practically magical. Its fly-on-the-wall quality works wonders.”
A Film by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
Sara Khaki is an Iranian-American documentary director, producer, and editor dedicated to telling stories that promote gender equity. She is a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award winner, World Cinema: Documentary and Visions Du Reél Audience Award winner for her feature documentary co-directed with Mohammadreza Eyni, Cutting Through Rocks — which was also in the top ten films at the 2025 Hot Docs Film Festival, as ranked by the audience. Cutting Through Rocks has been called “a deftly shaped work of cinematic nonfiction” by Indiewire and “one of those profound vérité documentaries that are only possible through the patience and perseverance of the filmmakers” by POV Magazine.
Her intimate short film Our Iranian Lockdown, filmed by her and Mohammadreza over several weeks in quarantine in Tehran, is now streaming on The Guardian as a Guardian Documentary and received an IDA Awards nomination. Sara’s co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Sara graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore with her BFA in cinematic arts and from the School of Visual Arts with an MFA in Social Documentary Filmmaking. She is the co-founder of Gandom Films Production, a US based production company. Sara works and resides between Iran and the United States and her work has been supported by Sundance Institute, Chicken & Egg Films, Firelight Media, IDFA Bertha Fund, among others.
Mohammadreza Eyni is a director, producer, and cinematographer, whose career and cinematic approach bridges boundaries and elevates underrepresented voices — connecting diverse perspectives globally. He is a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award winner, World Cinema: Documentary and Visions Du Reél Audience Award winner for his feature documentary Cutting Through Rocks — which was also in the top ten films at the 2025 Hot Docs Film Festival, as ranked by the audience. His cinematography in the film has been heralded as “uniquely propulsive” and “practically magical” by Variety and “precisely lensed” by Indiewire.
His intimate short film Our Iranian Lockdown, filmed by him and Sara Khaki over several weeks in quarantine in Tehran, is now streaming on The Guardian as a Guardian Documentary and received an IDA Awards nomination. His co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Mohammadreza has been supported by Sundance Institute, IDFA Bertha Foundation, Hot Docs Cross Current Doc Fund, among others. He is a Tribeca Film Institute alumnus and graduated with an MFA in cinema from Tehran University of Fine Arts. He resides between Iran and the States.
Credits
Gandom Films Production Presents with the participation of Sara Shahverdi
Executive Producers Meadow Fund, Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Judith Helfand, Julie Parker Benello, Sheila Nevins
Co-Executive Producer Monika Parekh
Contributing Producer Thomas Lennon
Editors Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni
Music Score Karim Sebastian Elias
Cinematographer Mohammadreza Eyni
Post Production Filmo Estudios
Sound Designer Miguel Hormazabal
Sound Mixer Mauricio Lopez
Colorist Pamela Valenzuela
Poster Design Burabo Studio
