B eing the first anything is a point of pride, but also a burden. Sara Shahverdi has carved her own path through a deeply conservative village in rural Iran . An experienced midwife who has delivered more than 400 babies, she has always done what is not permitted of women: to ride a motorcycle in public, to get a divorce and to live alone. Now she has taken on another herculean task: to become the first female councillor to be elected in this part of the country.

Staying close to its subject, Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s dynamic documentary captures the full force of Shahverdi’s formidable personality. An early scene shows her barging into the home of her brothers, demanding they return the rights of land inheritance to her sisters. The film expands from Shahverdi’s private issue

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