Cutting Through Rocks

Name: Cutting Through Rocks
Genre: Biography, Documentary
Released: November 21, 2025
Duration: 95 min
Rating: 80

2025

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Generally favorable reviews based on 8 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Madman Entertainment | Release Date: November 21, 2025 | Not Rated

Summary: As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.

Genre(s): Biography, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 95 min

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Critic Reviews

The Film Stage Dan Mecca

Nov 20, 2025

Cutting Through Rocks, like its subject, is resilient. The film is ultimately the sum of small, powerful moments. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Nov 20, 2025

Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni, who directed and edited the documentary, with Eyni also serving as cinematographer, have made a film that pulses with so much hopefulness that when Shahverdi’s story takes a shocking turn, it’s a punch to the solar plexus. Read full review

Next Best Picture Sara Clements

Nov 20, 2025

A beautifully crafted documentary that’s a celebration of the profound ways in which women like Sara Shahverdi can – and do – change the world around them. Read full review

Jonathan Holland

Nov 20, 2025

Shot from inside its community, Rocks is more than simply a polemic, though, and is careful to root its message in sequences of day-to-day reality. Read full review

IndieWire Lauren Wissot

Nov 20, 2025

Through majestic overhead shots of Shahverdi (and her young girl gang) speeding through the mountain-cradled landscape, alternated with intimate closeups (Shahverdi’s expressive face sometimes speaks louder than her words), we’re brought closer to a world both foreign and undoubtedly familiar. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Peyton Robinson

Nov 21, 2025

The film grants hope for the women of Iran through its thick-skinned subject, putting her resume and grit on display. But with sharper editing and a bit more eagerness for the personal, “Cutting Through Rocks” would supersede general hopefulness for a more intricate touch to the heart. Read full review

Siddhant Adlakha

Nov 20, 2025

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. Read full review

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