
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.












“A sharp documentary… 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
A Film by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
SARA KHAKI
Director, Producer, Editor
Sara Khaki is a 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 Cutting Through Rocks, which follows the first elected councilwoman of a rural Iranian village. The film 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 short film Our Iranian Lockdown is now streaming on The Guardian and received an IDA Awards nomination. Sara’s co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Sara graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore with a BFA in cinematic arts and from the School of Visual Arts with an MFA in social documentary filmmaking. A grantee of the Sundance Film Institute, Chicken & Egg Films, and Firelight Media, Sara’s work continues to amplify change on gender equity through the cinéma vérité form.
MOHAMMADREZA EYNI
Director, Producer, Director of Cinematography
Mohammadreza Eyni is director, producer, and cinematographer, whose career and cinematic approach aims to bridge boundaries, elevate underrepresented voices, and connect diverse perspectives globally. He is a 2025 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award winner in the World Documentary competition for his feature documentary Cutting Through Rocks, which has become an audience favorite at Sydney, Hot Docs, Visions Du Reél international film festivals, among others. His cinematic approach has been heralded as “uniquely propulsive,” “practically magical” (Variety) and “precisely lensed” (Indiewire) as well as “delivering simple moments into cinematic poetry” (Hammer to Nail.) He was named as one of the top five cinematographers to watch at Sundance in 2025.
His intimate short film Our Iranian Lockdown, streaming on The Guardian, has received an IDA Awards nomination. His co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis was nominated for an 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.
Upcoming Screenings
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DMZ Docs
Asian Premiere
September 11–17, 2025
Paju City, South Korea -
Lunenburg Doc Fest
Septemeber 17–21, 2025
Lunenberg, Canada -
Vancouver International Film Festival
October 2–12, 2025
Vancouver, Canada -
Singapore Film Society Showcase
September 27, 2025
Singapore
Past Screenings
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Sundance Film Festival
Winner, World Cinema: Grand Jury Prize Documentary
World PremiereJanuary 25–31, 2025
Park City, Utah -
Visions du Reél
Audience Award, Wide Angle
International PremiereApril 4–6, 2025
Nyon, Switzerland -
San Francisco International Film Festival
April 19–20, 2025
San Francisco, CA
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Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival
April 29, 2025
Traverse City, Michigan -
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
Top 10 Audience Favorite
May 2–3, 2025
Toronto, ON -
DocsBarcelona
May 10–15, 2025
Barcelona, Spain -
Berkshire International Film Festival
June 1, 2025
Berkshires, MA -
Sydney Film Festival
Runner Up, Audience Award
June 8–11, 2025
Sydney, Australia -
DC/DOX Film Festival
June 14, 2025
Washington, DC -
Costa Rica Festival Internacional de Cine
June 22–24, 2025
San Jose, Costa Rica -
Galway Film Fleadh
July 10, 2025
Galway, Ireland -
Maine International Film Festival
July 16–18, 2025
Waterville, Maine -
Giffoni Film Festival
Best Documentary, Gex Doc Award
July 18, 2025
Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy -
Guanajuato Film Festival
July 25–29, 2025
Guanajuato, Mexico -
Lemesos International Documentary Festival
August 2, 2025
Limassol, Cyprus -
MDOC
Jean-Loup Passek Award, Best International Documentary
August 3, 2025
Melgaço, Portugal -
Dokufest
August 4–8, 2025
Prizren, Kosovo -
Martha's Vineyard Film Festival
August 14, 2025
Martha’s Vineyard, MA -
Melbourne International Film Festival
August 16–20, 2025
Melbourne, Australia -
Edinburgh International Film Festival
August 18–19
Edinburgh, Scotland -
New Zealand International Film Festival
Audience Award, Frames Competition
Best Film, Frames CompetitionAugust 21–24, 2025
Auckland, NZ