Cutting Through Rocks - International Women’s Day Screening Event

Cutting Through Rocks

5 pm Monday 9th March
@Theatre Royal

Language: Azeri Turkish & Farsi with English subtitles
Duration: 90 mins

Directed by: Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni

For this year’s International Women’s Day, CDoc presents "Cutting Through Rocks", a rousing Iranian documentary about courage and conviction that follows a fearless eccentric, Sara Shahverdi, a motorbike rider, midwife and the first woman elected to her village council in northern rural Iran.

We are thrilled to welcome the incredible Gelareh Pour to a conversation panel after the screening. Gelareh is an Iranian-Australian musician and producer whose musical practice is grounded in Persian traditions and shaped by contemporary experimental contexts. A leading performer of the Kamancheh, singer and composer, she draws on deep cultural lineage while engaging with new and evolving forms of expression.

The New York Times made this film a Critic’s Pick, calling it "a film that pulses with so much hopefulness." It’s nominated for the 2026 Oscars Documentary Feature, and winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary Cinema at Sundance 2025, this is a rare and moving work that invites us to reflect on power, autonomy and what it means to insist on dignity,  for yourself and for others.

Shahverdi’s compassionate determination shines as she tackles long-ignored infrastructure issues and urges male constituents to share property ownership with their wives. Despite accentuating her strength, the documentary doesn’t shy away from Shahverdi’s vulnerability, particularly when the opposition threatens her through intimately personal attacks.