Sony Classics Acquires Cannes Doc Winner ‘Rehearsals for a Revolution’

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired Rehearsals for a Revolution, the Cannes Film Festival’s L’Oeil d’Or-winning documentary from debut director Pegah Ahangarani — and if the reaction at the Croisette is any indication, North American audiences are in for something genuinely extraordinary.

SPC picked up all rights in North and Latin America, Asia (except Japan), New Zealand, Turkey, Portugal, and worldwide airlines. The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and The Party Film Sales on behalf of the filmmakers.

The film premiered in the Special Screenings section at Cannes, where it was immediately praised by audiences and critics alike. Then came the prize. The L’Oeil d’Or jury — presided over by Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov and including Tabitha Jackson, Géraldine Pailhas, Lina Soualem, and Victor Chastanet — selected it from a field of 21 films drawn from the Official Selection, Critics’ Week, Directors’ Fortnight, and the ACID sidebar.

“This film allows us to enter the intricate and complex reality of contemporary Iran through a braiding of personal, historical, and poetic cinema,” the jury said in their citation. “In its search to find the language to express the truths of the moment, Rehearsals for a Revolution is not afraid to question its own gestures — to doubt itself and to be vulnerable. The jury was struck by the masterful script and vivid, urgent storytelling, and by a filmmaker who carried us through violent waves of history while never losing sight of the value of each individual human life.”

A Debut 40 Years in the Making

Ahangarani, best known as an actress before stepping behind the camera, constructed the film across six chapters drawn from her own life — weaving together personal archives, home videos, street protest footage, newspapers, and recorded voices to retrace more than four decades of Iran’s history. From the early days of 1979 through the war that began in 2026, she pieces together intimate and collective memories: her filmmaker parents, the tragic death of her uncle Rashid, the birth of her daughter.

The title itself carries real weight. Ahangarani told Deadline’s Damon Wise that she was still getting used to it when the festival began.

“What convinced me, I think, is that the word ‘rehearsal’ often refers to art and cinema, which reflects the fact that I myself come from an acting career,” she said. “But it also refers to the voice of Rashid, in the third chapter, when he says that Iran is a country of failed revolutions. This is something that might sound sad and a bit desperate, but at the same time, it’s true. There’s been quite a lot of failed revolutions, but there is also hope. Rehearsal means there’s still time for one final revolution.”

When she accepted the award in the presence of Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Frémaux, she dedicated it to the people of Iran.

The Hollywood Reporter called the film “a powerful documentary self-portrait that spans decades of resistance and repression in Iran,” noting that it “looks forward to a time, perhaps not too far in the future, when all the rehearsed revolutions she experienced will finally lead to a real one.” Their review also described it as “a cautionary tale about speaking up in a place where rebellion can cost you your livelihood, and quite possibly your life” — and a portrait of a family that lost loved ones to a regime they once supported, only to find themselves betrayed by it.

The film was written and directed by Ahangarani and edited by Arash Ashtiani, with co-writers Ehsan Abdipour, Amir Ahmadi Arian, Arash Ashtiani, and Majed Neisi. It was made in association with Czech Republic’s Media Nest and Spain’s Fasten Films.

The L’Oeil d’Or prize — now in its 11th year, presented in partnership with LaScam, the French-speaking society for non-fiction authors — comes with a €5,000 award. The jury also gave a Special Mention to Tin Castle, directed by Alexander Murphy, a film about the O’Reillys, a family of Irish Travelers living in a caravan.

“Rehearsal means there’s still time for one final revolution.” That line will stay with you long after the credits roll.