‘Cutting Through Rocks’ Trailer: In Oscar-Contending Doc, Maverick Woman Defies Convention In Story That “Resonates Universally”
EXCLUSIVE: In the award-winning documentary , tears come to the eyes of Sara Shahverdi as she reflects on intense pressure she has faced for flouting convention.
“They want me to be somebody I am not,” she says. “They want to change me.”
Shahverdi is a maverick in conservative Iran — a divorced, motorcycle-riding former midwife and the first woman ever elected to a local council in her country. The documentary about this extraordinary woman, directed by Iranian American filmmakers and , has won awards around the globe beginning at Sundance, where it earned the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary. It was just named to the DOC NYC shortlist of the year’s best documentaries.
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Sara Shahverdi on her inauguration day after winning election to a local council in Iran. She is surrounded by male inaugurees.
Gandom Films Production
Cutting Through Rocks, from Gandom Films Production, will be released theatrically at Film Forum in NYC on November 21 and in select theaters nationwide on December 5. We have your first look at the Oscar-contending film in the trailer above.
Gandom Films Production
“Fierce and unapologetic, Sara pushes for bold reforms, fighting her most difficult battles on behalf of the village’s girls and women,” notes a synopsis. “From teaching teenage girls to ride motorcycles to challenging child marriage to advocating for female land ownership, she openly defies patriarchal norms. But when her efforts spark backlash and accusations about her motives, Sara must confront not only her critics – but also her own sense of identity.”
Director Sara Khaki comments, “As an Iranian American filmmaker and woman of color who has lived half of my life in Iran and half in the United States, I felt compelled to tell the story of a woman demanding space.” Adds director and cinematographer Mohammadreza Eyni, “We are heartened to see Sara Shahverdi’s story has resonated with audiences worldwide.”
The married filmmakers directed the IDA Award-nominated short Our Iranian Lockdown (2020), now streaming on The Guardian website. They collaborated with a group of fellow directors on the Emmy-nominated Netflix Original documentary Convergence: Courage in Crisis (2021).
Director Sara Khaki
Gandom Films Production
In a director’s statement, Khaki expanded on her motivation to pursue Cutting Through Rocks.
“Born and raised in Tehran, I witnessed countless women fighting for independence,” she writes. “As an immigrant in the U.S., I realized gender equity is an unfinished work globally. When I met Sara Shahverdi, a woman who has defiantly forged her own path as a leader in her community, I knew her story could resonate universally.”
Director Mohammadreza Eyni
Gandom Films Production
Eyni writes, “Over the course of eight years, we built trust and community in Shahverdi’s village, allowing us to witness small but revolutionary shifts. We saw how Shahverdi’s political organizing led to women having equal land ownership with their husbands, a framework virtually unheard of in her region and much of the Middle East and North Africa. We also saw the emergence of promising futures for a new generation of girls. Early in the film, Shahvedi is the only female motorcycle rider in the village, but by the end of the filming, she leads a group of girls on their own motorcycles through the backcountry, with the steadfast support of their parents.”
In addition to the top prize for world documentary at Sundance, Cutting Through Rocks won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film and the Audience Award at the New Zealand International Film Festival. It also won the Audience Award at Visions du Réel in Switzerland, and prizes at other festival from Portugal to Italy and South Korea.
Cutting Through Rocks will be featured as part of Deadline’s virtual event series For the Love of Docs on Tuesday, December 2. You can RSVP for that screening by clicking here.
Watch the trailer for Cutting Through Rocks above.
