Cutting Through Rocks (LUXFILMFEST)

Agora

..Sara KHAKI, Mohammadreza EYNI, 95 min, 2025 - Iran, Netherlands, United States, Germany, Qatar, Chile, Canada
In a remote Iranian village where tradition stipulates that a “woman should live with her husband or father,” Sara Shahverdi–a former midwife and motorcycle-riding divorcée who lives alone–flouts convention to become the first elected female councilor. As she mentors girls, challenges child marriage, and confronts entrenched systems of power, Cutting Through Rocks observes, with rare intimacy, the personal cost and political stakes of insisting on change. With remarkable patience and formal restraint, directors Eyni and Khaki turn a local political struggle into a dynamic study of entrenched power and gender inequity. Sara Shahverdi emerges as an unforgettable presence, her determination and resolve marshaling hope in the face of systemic oppression.   In collaboration with Ciné ONU