As the first elected councilwoman of her remote Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi fearlessly breaks 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
A Film by Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
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.
Past Festival 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 -
DMZ Docs
International Competition Jury Special Mention
Asian PremiereSeptember 11–17, 2025
Paju City, South Korea -
Lunenberg Doc Fest
Septemeber 17–21, 2025
Lunenberg, Canada -
Singapore Film Society Showcase
September 27, 2025
Singapore -
Vancouver International Film Festival
October 3–8, 2025
Vancouver, Canada -
Athens International Film Festival
October 7, 2025
Athens, Greece -
Festival do Rio
October 10–11, 2025
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -
Festival des Libertés
Grand Prix du Festival des Libertés
Prix du Centre d’Action LaïqueOctober 15, 2025
Brussels, Belgium -
Warsaw International Film Festival
October 11–15, 2025
Warsaw, Poland -
Hot Springs International Documentary Film Festival
October 16, 2025
Hot Springs, Arkansas -
Bergen International Film Festival
October 16–23, 2025
Bergen, Norway -
New Hampshire Film Festival
October 17, 2025
Portsmouth, New Hampshire -
Woodstock Film Festival
October 18, 2025
Woodstock, New York -
Newport Beach Film Festival
October 18, 2025
Newport Beach, California -
Seattle International Film Festival DocFest
October 19, 2025
Seattle, Washington -
Montclair Film Festival
October 26–27, 2025
Montclair, NJ -
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Best of Docs
November 9–13, 2025
Tallinn, Estonia -
Dok Leipzig
German Premiere
Audience CompetitionOctober 29–November 2, 2025
Leipzig, Germany -
IDFA
Winner - Audience Award
Dutch PremiereNovember 13-23, 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands -
DOC NYC ShortList
Short List: Features
November 13, 2025
New York, NY
Past Theatrical Screenings
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New York, NY
Nov 21 - Dec 11, 2025
Special guests Arian Moyed, Geralyn Dreyfuss & Chelsea Clinton -
San Francisco, CA
Dec 5 - 8, 2025
Special guests Jay Rosenblatt and Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk -
Los Angeles, CA
Royal & Town Center 5
Dec 5 - 11, 2025
Special guest Anne Thompson -
San Rafael, CA
Dec 9, 2025
Special guests Dayna Goldfine & Dan Geller -
Vancouver, BC
Dec 12 - 19, 2025 -
Toronto, ON
Dec 12 - 18, 2025 -
Edmonton, AB
December 28 & 30, 2025 -
Chicago, IL
Jan 9, 24, 25, 27, 2026
Filmmakers in attendance -
Victoria, BC
January 9, 13 & 15, 2025 -
New York, NY
Nov 21 - Dec 11, 2025
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Atlanta, GA
January 30, 2026 -
New York, NY
January 31 & February 7, 2026 -
Montreal, QC
February 1, 2026 -
Washington, DC
February 4, 2026 -
Willitis, CA
February 6 & March 20, 2026 -
Wooster, OH
February 6, 2026 -
Washington, DC
February 8, 2026 -
Halifax, NS
February 19, 2026 -
Stamford, CT
February 15, 2026 -
Toronto, ON
February 17, 2026 -
Chicago, IL
Opens February 20-25, 2026 -
San Diego, CA
February 20, 2026 -
Olympia, WA
February 19 - 22, 2026 -
Medicine Hat, AB
February 20, 2026 -
London, UK
February 22 - 26, 2026 -
Cleveland, OH
February 26, 2026 -
Victoria, BC
March 11 & 12, 2026 -
Portland, ME
March 11, 2026 -
Vancouver, BC
February 5, 2026 -
Quebec City, QC
February 12, 2026 -
Edmonton, AB
February 28, 2026 -
Invermere, BC
March 3, 2026 -
Richmond Hill, ON
March 6, 2026 -
Kamloops, BC
March 12, 2026 -
Guelph, ON
March 14-17, 2026 -
Whitehorse, YK
March 14 & 18, 2026 -
Simcoe, ON
March 15, 206 -
Wolfville, NS
March 18, 2026 -
Sudbury, ON
April 9–12, 2026 -
Charlottetown, PE
April 27, 2026 -
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Winnipeg, MB
May 8, 2026 -
St-Jérôme, PQ
May 13, 2026 -
St-Eustache, QC
May 13, 2026