Cutting Through Rocks
Showtimes
Sara Shahverdi is a motorcycle-riding midwife determined to break deeply rooted patriarchal traditions by educating teenage girls and preventing child marriages in her home region of northwestern Iran. She pursues her life’s mission both at the grassroots level and through local politics, becoming the first female member of the municipal council in her area. Advancing her goals is challenging in a patriarchal community, where girls are steered toward early marriage and a life as homemakers.
Sara teaches girls how to ride motorcycles and lectures on the importance of education. However, not everyone in the community looks kindly on teenage girls experimenting with two wheels. Further obstacles arise when the intentions of a divorced, childless woman are questioned through surreal accusations.
Yet even in the most hopeless moments, it becomes clear that the struggle for equality and changing attitudes also require negotiation and bargaining skills. Cutting Through Rocks is a film about change, solution-oriented action, and the possibility of living differently. The directorial debut by Sara Khaki and Mohammad Reza Eyni won the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Omar Fasolah (translated by Anni Rossi)
