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EQUALS on film: The Glass House

Directed by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard

  • OSCE Human Rights Award - Dokufest
  • IDFA – World Premiere
  • Sundance Film Festival 2009

Synopsis

The girls of The Glass House take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran as they strive to pull themselves out of the margins of society by attending a one-of-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran.

About the director

Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard

As a husband and wife team, Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard have been making films for over 12 years. Their goal is to produce engaging, socially provocative films that push the boundaries of art and story telling and challenge their audiences’ perceptions about what they know and how they look at the world around them.Their primary focus over the past decade years has been subjects related to Iran and the Iranian diaspora. Many of their films have premiered at Sundance, Toronto, Venice and IDFA film festivals, won numerous international awards and been televised on international networks, including PBS, Sundance Channel, IFC, Channel 4, DR2 and Al Jazeera. In addition to their work in film they have produced graphic design, photography and literature projects. They have also been heavily involved in promoting the work of artists from Iran and the Middle East in the US through nonprofit collaborations and consultations with other organizations.

  • “Superb cinema verité style. It deftly portrays a spirit of hopefulness.”
    - Variety
  • “A dramatic feature [constructed] around the forbidden stories of an ensemble of outcasts should not be underestimated.”
    - David D'Arcy, Screen Daily
  • “Its compelling female subjects make 'The Glass House' a crowd favorite.”
    - Steve Ramos, Movie Jungle
  • “One of those rare films that make you forget that you are watching a documentary.”
    - Setareh Sabety, Iranian.com

More Information

The fringes of Iranian society can be a lonely place, especially if you are a teenage girl with few resources to fall back on. The Glass House follows four girls striving to pull themselves out of the margins by attending a one-of-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran. Forget about the Iran that you've seen before. With a virtually invisible camera, the girls of The Glass House take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran with their brave and defiant stories: Samira struggles to overcome forced drug addition; Mitra harnesses abandonment into her creative writing; Sussan teeters on a dangerous ledge after years of sexual abuse; and Nazila burgeons out of her hatred with her blazing rap music. This groundbreaking documentary reflects a side of Iran few have access to or paid attention to: a society lost to its traditions with nothing meaningful to replace them and a group of courageous women working to instill a sense of empowerment and hope into the minds and lives of otherwise discarded teenage girls.

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  • EQUALS on film: The Glass House: TheGlassHouse - PAL

    Description
    The Glass House
    Running time
    92 mins
    Rating
    Audio languages
    Persian
    Subtitle languages
    English