SUNDANCE CHANNEL EXAMINES THE HIDDEN LIVES OF YOUNG IRANIAN WOMEN IN 'THE GLASS HOUSE'

Sundance Channel looks at the hidden lives of young women in the Iranian underclass in the U.S. television debut of the critically-acclaimed documentary film, The Glass House. Premiering as part of DOCday on November 16th at 9pm et/pt, the film is directed by Hamid Rahmanian and produced by Melissa Hibbard, follows four girls over 18 months as they strive to pull themselves out of the margins of Iranian society The Glass House made it world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The subjects of the film are alienated from their families and have found safety and comfort in the Omid e Mehr center, founded in 2004 in Tehran, by expatriate Marjaneh Halati. Ms. Halati opened the one-of-a-kind rehabilitation facility to give troubled young women the life skills they need to succeed on their own. She currently travels regularly from her home in London to Tehran to make sure the center is meeting her standards and, most importantly, to give the girls some much needed guidance and one-on-one attention. Without anyone to turn to for support, many of these teens previously spent time in a jail, hospital, or state home.

Sussan is 20 years old and uses temporary marriages to protect herself from the violence and sexual abuse from her brothers. She suffers from memory loss and a stutter as a result of a blow to the head by either one of her temporary husbands or brothers. Sussan is getting an education, learning to defend herself and confronting her past at the center but while she is trying to heal she still struggles with choosing abusive relationships, in search of something or someone on which to depend.

Mitra is learning how to avoid confrontation with her father, who takes out his frustration on his 16-year-old daughter. She attempts to fill the empty space her mother left behind with love for herself and her newly discovered talent for creative writing. Still, she goes home to her father every night where she is chided for being over weight and lazy.

Nazila, 19, finds an outlet for her anguish by recording as a rap singer, which is forbidden by law. She is being groomed to eventually return to the center as a social worker. When her mother abandoned the family five years ago, Nazilla was left with the burden of taking care of six younger siblings and her father.

Samira is only 14 years old. After her parents divorced, she lived alone with her mother who dosed Samira with a lethal combination of alcohol, crystal meth and ecstasy pills to prevent her from being a nuisance. The social workers at the center work closely with state agencies and doctors to try to help her recover.