Amir Soltani's guest appearances

Amir Soltani

KUCI: Film School

Dot Citizen

Ben Shapiro

Donald Trump

John Sayles

Sam Jones

Billy Mize

David Sutherland

Alex Gibney

John Adams

Adam Carolla

Noël Wells

Jennifer Brea

Alexis Bloom

Mark Grieco

David Klein

Bassem Youssef

OwlTail

Persian history is long, but the past century in Iran has seen almost a constant struggle for human rights, equality, dignity, and freedom. To understand what it is like to live and grow up in Iran, we sat down with Amir Soltani, author of the graphic novel Zahra's Paradise.  Purchase a copy of Zahra's Paradise here. See the archived Vote4Zahra campaign website here. Read more from Amir on Zahra's Paradise for Amnesty International here. Read coverage about Zahra's virtual run for the presidency of Iran here, here, and here. Read more about Yousef and Farhad, Amir and Khalil's second graphic novel on the LGBT community in Iran, here.  Send us your feedback on Twitter or join our community on Flick Chat!

Persian history is long, but the past century in Iran has seen almost a constant struggle for human rights, equality, dignity, and freedom. To understand what it is like to live and grow up in Iran, we sat down with Amir Soltani, author of the graphic novel Zahra's Paradise. <ul> <li>Purchase a copy of Zahra's Paradise <a href="https://amzn.to/36zXBmD" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li> <li>See the archived Vote4Zahra campaign website <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131017125632/http://vote4zahra.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li> <li>Read more from Amir on Zahra's Paradise for Amnesty International <a href="http://amnestymena.org/en/Magazine/Issue20/ArtisticDemonstrationVirtualWorldIran.aspx" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li> <li>Read coverage about Zahra's virtual run for the presidency of Iran <a href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/cartoon-candidate-only-one-addressing-human-rights-in-iranian-election/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/meet-zahra-the-fictional-candidate-running-for-president-of-iran.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.digitalislam.eu/article.do?articleId=8311" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li> <li>Read more about Yousef and Farhad, Amir and Khalil's second graphic novel on the LGBT community in Iran, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iran-graphic-novel-yousef-farhad_n_56be523ae4b0c3c55051792c" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</li> </ul> Send us your feedback on <a href="https://twitter.com/DotCitizenPod" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or join our community on <a href="https://flick.group/dotcitizen" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Flick Chat</a>!

Amir Soltani: Finding Zahra's Paradise in Iran

Chihiro Wimbushption

Shot over 7 years, Dogtown Redemption follows the lives of three street recyclers in an area of West Oakland, California nicknamed �Dogtown�: Jason Witt, the Olympic champion of recycling, who often hauls a shopping cart that weighs over a ton; Landon Goodwin, a former minister who struggles with his own fall from grace; and Miss Hayok Kay, the daughter of a prominent Korean family and drummer for a 1980s punk band, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Each survives by redeeming bottles, cans, and assorted other recyclables at Alliance Metals, the neighborhood recycling company which functions as both a financial hub and community center. The poignant personal stories of Jason, Landon and Miss Kay reveal the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor, and why it matters to all of us. Filmmakers Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbush wanted to provide a different perspective on the homeless. The film reveals them to be hard-working, entrepreneurial individuals, who -- despite the many daunting challenges facing them � work incredibly hard to make their own way in the world.  Dogtown Redemption premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 16, 2016, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.For news and updates go to: dogtownredemption.com/

Shot over 7 years, Dogtown Redemption follows the lives of three street recyclers in an area of West Oakland, California nicknamed �Dogtown�: Jason Witt, the Olympic champion of recycling, who often hauls a shopping cart that weighs over a ton; Landon Goodwin, a former minister who struggles with his own fall from grace; and Miss Hayok Kay, the daughter of a prominent Korean family and drummer for a 1980s punk band, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Each survives by redeeming bottles, cans, and assorted other recyclables at Alliance Metals, the neighborhood recycling company which functions as both a financial hub and community center. The poignant personal stories of Jason, Landon and Miss Kay reveal the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor, and why it matters to all of us. Filmmakers Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbush wanted to provide a different perspective on the homeless. The film reveals them to be hard-working, entrepreneurial individuals, who -- despite the many daunting challenges facing them � work incredibly hard to make their own way in the world. Dogtown Redemption premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 16, 2016, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS. For news and updates go to: <a href="http://dogtownredemption.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dogtownredemption.com/</a>

Dogtown Redemption / Film School interview with co-directors Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbushption