Recommendations of the Editorial team
The documentary “Cutting Through Rocks” won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. After a total of 24 further awards, the big Hollywood recognition awaits, as the film by directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni was nominated for the Oscar in the “Best Documentary Feature” category on Thursday (January 22nd).
This is also a success for the German composer KS Elias, who developed the music for the film. For the music professor, known in this country for his scores for many TV productions, including many “Tatort” episodes and “Ku’damm 63”, the Oscar opportunity is not even new. The documentary “Of Fathers and Sons!”, set to music by Elias, also was nominated for a golden boy.
“Cutting Through Rocks” is deliberately directed against patriarchal structures and sheds light on the life of Sara Shahverdi, a 37-year-old former midwife from Iran who, after her divorce, made a name for herself as a passionate civil rights activist and motorcyclist. She overwhelmingly won a local election, became a city councilor, and has been advocating for the rights and concerns of her community ever since.
The busy film composer has been known to ROLLING STONE readers for a long time. Among other things, he also worked on the music for the ZDF series “The Second Wave” and is particularly proud of the small film project.