Autlook Filmsales has acquired “Cutting Through Rocks,” winner of the Grand Jury Prize of the World Cinema Documentary Competition section at Sundance Film Festival. Autlook will host a market screening of the film at Berlin’s European Film Market.
The film was directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, and produced by Gandom Films Production.
It follows Sara Shahverdi, the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, as she challenges entrenched patriarchal norms by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and combating child marriages. When her motives are questioned, Sara faces a profound personal crisis.
Variety critic Siddhant Adlakha wrote: “The film’s irascible but deeply principled subject — thirty-something divorcee Sara Shahverdi — gives the film its energy, though its lulls aren’t quite as purposeful. However, despite feeling drawn-out, the doc features occasional bursts of visual panache that help emphasize its underlying story.”
Executive producers include Meadow Fund, Rebecca Lichtenfeld of Independent Lens, and Judith Helfand of Blue Vinyl.
Stephanie Fuchs, CEO of Autlook, said: “This is an absolute standout—both an intimate and electrifying story of resilience and defiance. Sara Shahverdi’s journey is one of extraordinary courage, and we are thrilled to bring this powerful film to the international stage. It offers a rare and multifaceted view of Iran, told with striking cinematic vision.”
Khaki co-directed “Our Iranian Lockdown,” which received an International Documentary Assn. nomination. Her co-directed Netflix original, “Convergence: Courage in a Crisis,” received a 2022 Emmy nomination. Khaki is a 2020 Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grantee and Chicken & Egg alum.
Eyni is a co-founder of Gandom Films Production. He is a 2021 Firelight Media fellow, 2020 Sundance Institute Documentary Fund grantee, and Tribeca Film Institute alum.
Autlook’s Berlinale slate also includes the world premiere of “Only on Earth,” directed by Robin Petré, and the European premiere of “Khartoum,” directed by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed and Phil Cox. “Khartoum” premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.