THE GLASS HOUSE

THE GLASS HOUSE - a documentary about the girls of Omid e Mehr
	In Tehran, many teenage girls face obstacles of abuse, drugs, indifference and prejudice Tehran could be any city in the world, except that Tehran has THE GLASS HOUSE.
	SCREENINGS
	IDFA Sunday 23 November, 6:30PM at Tuschinski Wednesday, 26 November, 1:45 PM at Tuschinski Sunday 30 November, 10:00 AM at Tuschinski Buy Tickets Join The Glass House mailing list to stay up on the festival schedule Download the pressbook, photos and poster here. World Wide Sales: Andrew Herwitz / The Film Sales Company Festivals Screenings: info@fictionvillestudio.com For more information visit http://www.fictionvillestudio.com/
	ABOUT THE FILM
	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 Omid-e- Mehr, 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 addiction; 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. View the trailer A film by Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard A production of Fictionville Studio, In association with Sundance Channel Documentary 92 minutes, ©2008 In Persian with English subtitles Filmmakers Hamid Rahmanian and Melissa Hibbard have created three documentaries on video: BREAKING BREAD (2000), SIR ALFRED OF CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT (2001) and SHAHRBANOO (2002). In 2003, they co-founded a non-profit organization – ARTEEAST - its mission statement to promote the arts and cultures of the Middle East and it’s worldwide diasporas in the United States. In 2005, Hamid Rahmanian made his directorial début with the narrative feature DAY BREAK (Dame Sohb), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win several awards at festivals around the world. THE GLASS HOUSE is their latest narrative documentary, which will premiere in the Fall 2008.
	GET INVOLVED WITH THE GLASS HOUSE
	We really appreciate all of you who supported and believed in this project. Now we need your help to build a community around this project, the Omid-e-Mehr Center and the lives of marginalized young women around the world. If you have friends and colleagues in the Netherlands, let them know about the IDFA screenings. Join and invite your freinds to The Glass House Mailing List and become a fan on facebook. Media Contacts? Forward them the pressbook We anticipate that in early summer 2009 we will begin a series of benefit screenings to help raise funds and awareness about the Omid e Mehr Center. And in the fall 2009, to go hand in hand with the television premiere of the film in the US on the Sundance Channel, Fictionville Studio will release the DVD, containing original essays written about the issues the film addresses, interviews, a commentary on the making of the film, deleted scenes and additional stories from a couple of the girls not in the film. A percentage of the profits of the DVD go to the Omid Foundation in London to support the center in Tehran.
	ABOUT OMID
	Omid e Mehr was established in 2004 in Iran to strengthen the social, emotional, and economic competencies of disadvantaged young women (aged from 15 to 25), and provide them with a sense of self-worth and with the opportunities to experience a full range of life options through self-empowerment, education and training. Our clients have typically either been put into care from an early age, or run away from abusive homes, or live in extreme poverty. They often suffer from severe mental health and emotional difficulties, mostly stemming from their experiences of neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and exposure to drugs and violence. Despite their past difficulties, and the obstacles still facing them, our young clients have dreams. They yearn to participate in life, and to make meaningful contributions to the world around them. Omids holistic approach provides these young clients with the opportunities to realize such dreams. They are offered the tools, structure and support to help them succeed. And, above all, we offer them the chance to be heard. The cornerstones of this approach are self-empowerment, education and training, supplemented by effective work placement, counselling and assistance. We will only be able to thrive and to continue with our work through the generosity of other people and their belief in our capacity to change lives. For more information abour Omid-e-Mehr and how to get involved, please contact Marjaneh Halati at marjaneh@omid-e-mehr.org, tel +44 (20) 55846949 or visit our website Please notify info@omid-e-mehr.org if you do not wish to receive any further communications about the work and activities of the Omid-e-Mehr or Friends of Omid.