In Mohammadreza Eyni & Sara Khaki’s Cutting through Rocks, Sara Shahverdi runs for a seat on the town council in her rural Iranian village. When she wins, she sees an opportunity for change but encounters constant obstacles to progress and success due to her gender.
Awards Buzz spoke with Eyni and Khaki about the partnership they built to ensure that they could make this film. Khaki addressed the notion that her being a woman did present its challenges:
“I was born and raised in Iran but then, because I left Iran at a young age, I in a way re-immigrated back home and I had to deal with a lot of nuances. This is one of those films we wouldn’t have been able to make it without the presence of one another, because, in some ways, my presence as a woman secured relationships and conversations in a way that it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. And also for Mohammedreza, it was essential that we were working together because he was able to talk to the men and connect to the men in the village in a way that I would never be able to do. That’s really where the division, the gender gap, comes from, and actually that idea of women being invisible. That’s not really just the story of what happens in this remote village. It happens in so many other ways, in work settings, in different societies as well. It wasn’t inherently something extremely new that I had to deal with, but we found ways to deal with the nuances together.”
Eyni had nothing but praise for both of the Saras involved in the film:
“I always mention that for making films like Cutting Through Rocks, we need two Saras. One as a filmmaker behind the camera – Sarah Khaki – and one – Sara Shahverdi – in front of the camera with same mission. Because otherwise it’s not possible. What Sara Shahverdi is doing is amazing. Fighting all the time and being a real activist without a megaphone. Just doing something. Making independent films is like a crime in the country that we’re coming from, and being a female filmmaker is a double crime. I really respected what these amazing women are doing, and they really inspired me.”
Watch the video above to hear how they’re feeling about the current situation in Iran and achieving an Oscar nomination for this film.
Cutting through Rocks is an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature.
