Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni directed, shot, edited and produced their debut feature, Cutting Through Rocks, about an Iranian councilwoman who uses her position to advocate for the rights of women and girls in her village. The film screens as part of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Below, Khaki and Eyni respond in their capacity as producers about the process of finding funding while sticking with their subjects. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Khaki & Eyni: […]
In Cutting Through Rocks, directors Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki follow Iranian councilwoman Sarah Shahverdi, who teaches girls to ride motorcycles and uses her position to try to end child marriages. Cutting Through Rocks screens as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. Eyni and Khaki, besides directing, also served as the film’s editors. Below, they explain their method for editing in parallel and how they combed through 200 hours of footage. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were […]
Heightened Scrutiny documents ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio as he fights of transgender rights in the courtroom, as well as the battles waged outside the courtroom by those advocating for their rights. The film is director Sam Feder’s follow-up to 2020’s Disclosure and screens as part of the Sundance Premieres section. Emelie Mahdavian, whose previous credits include Midnight Traveler and Singing in the Wilderness, served as the film’s editor. Below, Mahdavian talks about the challenges of editing a film whose story is unfolding outside the editing room in real time. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind […]
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? For me, the most significant day in the course of making this film was the very last day of production. We had planned a simple pick-up shoot to grab some b-roll of me doing research in my apartment in my role as filmmaker-investigator. Almost at the last minute, I decided I wanted to film […]
Sara Shahverdi was the first elected Iranian councilwoman in her village, Cutting Through Rocks documents how she uses her power and resources to empower and protect women and girls. The film is the debut feature documentary of co-directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni. Eyni also served as the World Documentary Competition entry’s director of photography. Below, explains how he earned the trust of his subjects and, alongside Khaki, was able to shoot in women-only spaces. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors […]
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? On December 4, 2024, with three cameras our crew arrived outside the Supreme Court to film before, during, and after the case United States v. Skrmetti while attorney Chase Strangio was arguing inside. Starting at 9:00 AM, a rally of queer and trans children, adults and allies huddled together in the cold, giving speeches, […]
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? I could tell Autumn, the main subject of the film, was a little nervous when we met on the first day of filming. It was understandable—we’d only met through a Zoom call, and now we were there, cameras in hand. But by the second day, we found our rhythm. Autumn invited us to her […]
In Eva Victor’s debut feature, a professor, played by Victor herself works to come to terms with her past trauma over a five-year period, which unfolds nonlinearly. The film screens as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Dramatic Competition. Mia Cioffi Henry, best known for The Surrogate and herself a professor, served as the film’s cinematographer. She explicates the challenges of shooting a scene when the director is in front of the camera and how she captured her protagonist’s isolation below. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? I had this idea for a shot… I’ll spare you the details, but it was cool and complicated. Well, possibly cool. But DEFINITELY complicated. Plus it required like 10 people to move furniture and props mid-shot. We rehearsed the shot days before. My AD—who was my protector and guardian angel during production—saved it for […]