Cutting Through Rocks

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Cutting Through Rocks

2025

1h 34m

Documentary

Biography

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30 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

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.

Critics Consensus

Both a stirring portrait of a determined trailblazer and a clear-eyed study of social inequity, Cutting Through Rocks is a visually-striking documentary that'll get the engine revving.

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Claudia Puig

FilmWeek (LAist)

Dec 31

Inspiring, really well-shot, and also quite moving.

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Peyton Robinson

RogerEbert.com

Nov 21

3/4

The film grants hope for the women of Iran through its thick-skinned subject, putting her resume and grit on display.

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Sheri Linden

New York Times

Nov 20

Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, who directed and edited the documentary, with Eyni also serving as cinematographer, have made a film that pulses with so much hopefulness that when Shahverdi’s story takes a shocking turn, it’s a punch to the solar plexus.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Mar 15

The documentary Cutting Through Rocks gives a compelling look at the life of motorcycle-riding maverick politician Sara Shahverdi, whose feminist activism has shattered some gender barriers, as she battles misogyny in her Iranian village.

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Glenn Dunks

reDocumented

Mar 15

It’s not a surprise that it won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for world cinema (documentary) when its images can be so striking and get so efficiently to the heart of its story.

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Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Feb 24

4/5

An indelible portrait of a singularly scrappy, stubborn woman determined to force change in her deeply patriarchal Iranian village.

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Amir M

@RT52639762 Mar 17

Self proclaimed leftist feminists of the West, this is for you. Your homework is to watch this documentary worship at the alter of Sara Shahverdi.

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Dean E

@RT73719767 Mar 11

A woman has the audacity to run for, and win, a spot on her Village Council. In IRAN. What happens next is basically what you expect, as she has an uphill fight to convince the men, and even the older women, that women should be allowed to do what men do. Just when you think that women might be making some progress in that part of the world........

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Jonathan K

@aFIREintheattic Mar 1

Gratifying until it very much was not. I was ready to come on here and say the future is female, but in Iran it still seems like it very much is not. Pretty depressing in the end. Maddeningly regressive. Not the doc... Iran. Or the world, I guess. Yeah, the world. * sigh * I'm told the moral arc of the universe bends or something like that. As a documentary, it's raw and feels completely unstaged, even in moments that must have required some setup. The central figure is strong, relentless, and an interesting character study. I would watch an entire series about her fighting for the women and girls in her village and country.

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Nate S

@Nate78 Feb 18

A great documentary that shows everyday life in Iran, relationships between people, and Sarah's tireless energy to improve the lives of people. I highly recommend seeing this one.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Nov 21

The worldwide gross is $7,066.00.

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Mohammadreza Eyni

Director

Sara Khaki

Director

Eyni Sara Khaki

Director

Mohammad Reza Eyni

Director

Eyni Sara Khaki

Producer

Mohammad Reza Eyni

Producer

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Synopsis

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.

Director: Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, Eyni Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni
Producer: Eyni Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni
Production Co: Gandom Films Production
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: Persian
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 21, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 34m