Location: Central YMCA | 20 Grosvenor Street
International Premiere
After his sister unforeseeably runs away to be wed, 10-year-old Suresh must deal with the ordeal of life without a sister figure.
Born in Nepal, Arbin Rai developed a keen interest in storytelling through various mediums before gravitating towards filmmaking. As a filmmaker, his passion is to represent an authentic Nepali voice and explore themes that include family ties, social issues, and coming of age.
Midwife by trade, motorcyclist by rebellion, and politician by defiance, Sara Shahverdi is a force unlike any her village has seen. In a remote part of northwestern Iran, Sara is the first woman elected to her local council, but it’s after the ballots have been counted that her true revolution begins. Fighting for women’s freedoms, she sparks a fire that stirs admiration, but also doubt — and opposition.
Winner of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Visions du Réel, Cutting Through Rocks is a vérité feat by directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, filmed over seven years with patient, razor-sharp clarity. The camera walks beside Shahverdi — not to frame her as a martyr, but to illuminate the quiet, daily acts of resistance that define her. What emerges is a landscape where tradition and transformation collide, solidarity can flicker and fade, and the cost of progress is exacted in shadows. This is not just a portrait — it’s a reckoning with the risks of dreaming aloud.
Sara Khaki is a documentary director, producer, and editor dedicated to telling stories that promote gender equity. Sara co-directed Netflix Original Convergence: Courage in a Crisis, which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. A grantee of the Sundance Film Institute, Chicken & Egg Films, and Firelight Media, Sara’s work continues to amplify change on gender equity through the cinéma vérité form.
Mohammadreza Eyni is a director, producer, and cinematographer whose career and cinematic approach aim to bridge boundaries, elevate underrepresented voices, and connect diverse perspectives globally. His co-directed Netflix Original, Convergence: Courage in a Crisis, was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Film. Mohammadreza has been supported by Sundance Institute, IDFA Bertha Foundation, Hot Docs Cross Current Doc Fund, among others.
