City Cinema: Cutting Through Rocks

Documentary. PG.
Dir: Mohammadreza Eyni/Sara Khaki, Iran/Canada/USA, 95 min.
In Farsi with English subtitles.

Academy Award Nominee and Sundance Winner for Best Documentary.

“This portrait of Sara Shahverdi, the first woman elected to the council of her village [in remote northwestern Iran], is propelled by her no-nonsense resourcefulness, whether she’s overseeing the construction of a playground or helping women to move beyond antiquated traditions. In the dusty outpost where Shahverdi lives, the general philosophy is that… ‘a woman should live with her husband or father.’ Shahverdi, a former midwife, does neither; she’s divorced and lives alone… She’s the only female motorcyclist in the region – until some of the teenagers who admire her start riding. Watching one girl’s first spin, Shahverdi is a vision of pride and delight… But her work is serious. She uses a campaign promise to install gas lines as a way of securing property ownership rights for women, and urges schoolgirls to continue their education… Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni 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. But Shahverdi, facing the possibility of unspeakable consequences for her unconventional ways, doesn’t cave to despair. Her steeliness and strength are magnificent, but it’s her equanimity that delivers the film’s most powerful jolt.” —Sheri Linden, The New York Times