THE GLASS HOUSE, BANKING ON HEAVEN Screening

Two new documentaries to be screened at the American Cinematheque:

The Glass House (above) with director Hamid Rahmanian In Person
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at the Aero Theatre

Banking of Heaven with writer-producer Laurie Allen In Person
An Unflinching Look at the Controversial Latter-Day Saint Community
Thursday, October 29, 2009  at the Egyptian Theatre

The Glass House, which was screened at Sundance 2009, is "an intimate portrait of the never-before-seen plight of underclass Iranian women," while Banking of Heaven is " an unflinching look at a controversial Latter-Day Saints community" that is described as "home to a culture that routinely practices child rape, welfare fraud and systematic mind control."

Wednesday, October 28 – 7:30 PM at the Aero Theatre
THE GLASS HOUSE, 2009, 92 min. Dir. Hamid Rahmanian. Four Iranian girls strive to pull themselves out of the margins by attending a one-of-a-kind rehabilitation center in uptown Tehran. With a virtually invisible camera, the girls of THE GLASS HOUSE take us on a never-before-seen tour of the underclass of Iran, examining sexual abuse, drug addiction and abandonment. Discussion following with director Hamid Rahmanian and writer Melissa Hibbard.

Thursday, October 29 – 8:00 PM at the Egyptian Theatre
Los Angeles Premiere! BANKING ON HEAVEN, 2005, Over the Moon Productions, 90 min. An unflinching look at a cult of Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). The polygamist communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, are home to a culture that routinely practices child rape, welfare fraud and systematic mind control. Director Dot Reidelbach and writer-producer Laurie Allen, who escaped a similar sect, have constructed a documentary out of hidden-camera footage, interviews with polygamist escapees, "lost boys" (young men and children cast out of the community) and government officials. Discussion following with writer-producer Laurie Allen.