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As the first elected councilwoman of her 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

Upcoming Screenings

January 25–31, 2025 Sundance Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Documentary
World Premiere (Park City, Utah)

April 4–6, 2025 Visions du Reél - Audience Award, Wide Angle
International Premiere (Nyon, Switzerland)

August 4–8, 2025 DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival

April 19–20, 2025 San Francisco International Film Festival

April 29, 2025 Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival

May 2–3, 2025 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival

May 10–15, 2025 DocsBarcelona

June 1, 2025 Berkshire International Film Festival

June 14, 2025 DC/DOX Film Festival

June 8–11, 2025 Sydney Film Festival

June 22–24, 2025 Costa Rica International Film Festival

July 10, 2025 Galway Film Fleadh

Past Screenings

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 202.

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.