In celebration of the Persian New Year (March 21st, 2010) Fictionville Studios and the Omid Foundations are organizing community screenings across the globe throughout the month of March with the aim of highlighting the work of the Omid Foundations and the social issues that the young women in Omid’s care have dealt with throughout their lives. The ultimate objective is to raise funds to support the continued efforts of the Omid Foundations in empowering disadvantaged young women in Iran.

Our goal is to raise 100,000 US Dollars (60,000 GBP) for our cause during the month of March through 100 community screenings.

Community screenings are a simple way to make a huge impact.

Become a host and organize a screening. Invite your friends and family to watch the film at your home, house of worship, yoga center, public library or other venue. Facilitate a discussion after the screening. Encourage your guests to make donation in the form of a check or online credit/debit card payment. Donations in the US and the UK are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. The US Department of the Treasury has also awarded us an OFAC license which means that we have all the necessary permits to remit to Iran any donations we receive from US persons.

Send us an email to info@omid-e-mehr.org and let us know if you are interested in hosting a screening. It really is quite simple and straightforward:

• Study the downloads shown below to find the answers to most of your questions about how to host a screening.
• Purchase a Community Service Kit from Fictionville Studios for $185.00.
• Choose your venue.
• Invite your guests.
• Contact us for any help and guidance that you need in order to make your screening a success.

The Community Service Kit package includes:

• DVD of The Glass House.
• Iranian Chronicles CD.
• The Glass House postcards.
• Omid brochures.
• One set of cards designed by Omid girls.
• Gourmet popcorn.

These downloads will answer most of your questions:

• Community Screening Guide
• How to Host a Screening: A Rough Guide
• FAQ Guide
• Tax Deduction Information Guide

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 enrolling at the program at Omid in 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.

Directed by Hamid Rahmanian, Produced by Melissa Hibbard.
To learn more about The Glass House, see Asieh Namdar’s CNN reportage.

We are most indebted to the Razi Health Foundation for having made this project possible.

For all questions please contact info@omid-e-mehr.org,  +1 (301) 5710847 or +44 (20) 75846949.