POINTS NORTH PRESENTS Series
Set in a remote Iranian village, this documentary film follows Sara Shahverdi, a defiant, motorcycle-riding former midwife who becomes the first woman ever elected to her local council. Filmed over seven years, the documentary captures her high-stakes battle against entrenched patriarchal traditions as she fights to end child marriage and empower a new generation of girls. As the village’s male “old guard” orchestrates a smear campaign to silence her, Sara must defend her reputation and her mission in a biased legal system. It is a gritty, humorous, and deeply intimate portrait of a modern revolutionary chipping away at the status quo.
NR | Iran / Netherlands / USA / Germany/ Qatar / Chile / Canada | 2025 | 1h 35m
Directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni
In Azeri Turkish and Farsi with English subtitles
Filmmaker in attendance!
NY Times Critics Pick
Academy Award® nominated for Best Documentary Feature
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
“A film that pulses with so much hopefulness.”
– Sheri Linden, NY Times
“An atmospheric film that fluctuates realistically between hope and strife, Cutting Through Rocks offers a dynamic slice-of-life portrait of the lives of women in rural Iran.”
– Aviva Dove-Viebahn, Ms. Magazine
“Raucously entertaining… I was completely riveted.”
– Bilge Ebiri, Vulture
ABOUT POINTS NORTH PRESENTS
Points North Presents is a monthly screening series that extends the spirit of the Camden International Film Festival throughout the year. In collaboration with the Strand Theatre, we’re bringing some of the world’s most exciting and thought-provoking documentary films and filmmakers to the Midcoast Maine community.
On the fourth Thursday of March, April and May, we will gather in the historic Strand to share unforgettable films and the conversations they spark. Each screening will be followed by a lively Q&A discussion — often with the filmmaker in attendance!
