In the wake of winning the top documentary prize at Cannes, director Pegah Ahangarani‘s Rehearsals for a Revolution has been scooped up by Sony Pictures Classics.

SPC took rights in North America, Latin America, Asia (sans Japan), New Zealand, Turkey Portugal, and global airlines. The pic about decades of political repression in Iran won the L’Oeil d’or Prize today, which is the fest’s top award for docs.

The pic premiered in the Special Screenings section, and is a deeply personal debut feature from Ahangarani.

Through five portraits of relatives and mentors, five expressions of resistance, the filmmaker sketches her life story. Drawing from personal archives, home videos, street protests footage, newspapers, and recorded voices, she retraces more than 40 years of Iran’s history. From the early days of 1979, until the war that began in 2026, she pieces together intimate and collective memories, forming the portrait of a country shaped by political repression and in constant hope for a revolution.

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

The deal was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and The Party Film Sales on behalf of the filmmakers.

Yesterday, the Michael Barker and Tom Bernard led Sony label took all rights in North and Latin America, India and Southeast Asian TV to Iron Boy, Louis Clichy’s hand-painted animated feature which premiered here in Un Certain Regard.