About the Project
Global Moms Iran (working title) is a feature documentary film which tool
award-winning filmmaker Justine Shapiro and her six-year-old son Mateo
to Iran for the summer of 2007 where they shared daily life with three
families from very different backgrounds.
As Justine and her son Mateo packed their bags for Iran, the phone rang
off the hook with messages of concern from friends and
relatives, "Muslim countries -- especially Iran -- were no place for a mom
and her son to travel, not to mention an American and Jewish mom".
But along with the worry came a strong undercurrent of encouragement--
those who had been touched by Justine's work on GlobeTrekker and by
the landmark 2002 documentary Promises knew she was the right
person to make a film about family life in Tehran, and to bring the
substance of that connection back home to American viewers.
Global Moms Iran offers unique and refreshing insight into middle class
family life in Tehran. This poetic portrait of daily life provides a much-
needed balance to the sensationalist, simplistic and often negative view
so often expounded by mainstream news media. Much of the film was
shot in homes, playgrounds and preschools, in the private sphere, a
realm rarely given media attention.
The Fledgling Fund Impact
The Fledgling Fund is pleased to support this project. We believe it will
provide much needed insight into Iranian culture and family life and
provide an engaging and compelling tool for enhanced cross-cultural
understanding.
