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 Cutting Through Rocks

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 Cutting Through Rocks

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

  • DMZ Docs Cutting Through Rocks

    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

    Vancouver International Film Festival

    October 2–12, 2025
    Vancouver, Canada

  • Singapore Film Society Showcase

    Singapore Film Society Showcase

    September 27, 2025
    Singapore

Past Screenings

  • Sundance Film Festival

    Winner, World Cinema: Grand Jury Prize Documentary
    World Premiere

    January 25–31, 2025
    Park City, Utah

  • Visions du Reél

    Audience Award, Wide Angle
    International Premiere

    April 4–6, 2025
    Nyon, Switzerland

  • San Francisco International Film Festival

    April 19–20, 2025
    San Francisco, CA

  • Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival

    April 29, 2025
    Traverse City, Michigan

  • Hot Docs

    Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

    Top 10 Audience Favorite

    May 2–3, 2025
    Toronto, ON

  • DocsBarcelona

    DocsBarcelona

    May 10–15, 2025
    Barcelona, Spain

  • Berkshire International Film Festival

    Berkshire International Film Festival

    June 1, 2025
    Berkshires, MA

  • Sydney Film Festival

    Sydney Film Festival

    Runner Up, Audience Award

    June 8–11, 2025
    Sydney, Australia

  • DC/DOX Film Festival

    DC/DOX Film Festival

    June 14, 2025
    Washington, DC

  • Costa Rica International Festival

    Costa Rica Festival Internacional de Cine

    June 22–24, 2025
    San Jose, Costa Rica

  • Galway Film Fleadh

    Galway Film Fleadh

    July 10, 2025
    Galway, Ireland

  • Maine International Film Festival - Cutting Through Rocks official selection

    Maine International Film Festival

    July 16–18, 2025
    Waterville, Maine

  • Giffoni Film Festival - Cutting Through Rocks

    Giffoni Film Festival

    Best Documentary, Gex Doc Award

    July 18, 2025
    Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy

  • Guanajuato Film Festival - Cutting Through Rocks

    Guanajuato Film Festival

    July 25–29, 2025
    Guanajuato, Mexico

  • Lemesos International Documentary Festival

    Lemesos International Documentary Festival

    August 2, 2025
    Limassol, Cyprus

  • Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival

    MDOC

    Jean-Loup Passek Award, Best International Documentary

    August 3, 2025
    Melgaço, Portugal

  • Dokufest

    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

    Edinburgh International Film Festival

    August 18–19
    Edinburgh, Scotland

  • New Zealand international film festival cutting through rocks

    New Zealand International Film Festival

    Audience Award, Frames Competition
    Best Film, Frames Competition

    August 21–24, 2025
    Auckland, NZ