VIS a VIS: Beyond the Veil:
A Conversation between an American and an Iranian woman

" ... a formidable and fragile human adventure. Since it began 'Vis a Vis' has fascinated the public like no other program." --Le Monde

The forthcoming VIS a VIS: Beyond the Veil (premiering Thursday, August 27, 1998 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS; check local listings) brings together two women, one in suburban Washington, D.C., the other in Teheran, for an intense and moving exchange over four days. Deborah Whitley and Sima Daad share the same profession, both are high school English teachers, but ideologically, each is formed by her own country. Sima Daad embraces and defends the ideology and policy that governs the Islamic Republic of Iran, while Deborah Whitley comes from a liberal American background. In the course of eight days of intense and moving exchange, they confront and explore manyof the profound social and political differences that have kept their countries at odds.

Sima Daad explains to Deborah the historical and political context that has led to Iran's mistrust of the U.S. government, and adds that the hostility does not extend to the American people. In the course of the four days their different views on the role of womanhood emerges. Mrs. Daad explains that there is a freedom in not being judged on the basis of one's body or sex appeal and goes on to assert that the veil does not prevent women from professional and political achievement in Iran.They also discuss the fatwah against Salman Rushdie, each woman espousing her own views on the subject.

But in spite of many tensions in their evolving dialogue, Sima Daad and Deborah Whitley's common intelligence, motherhood, and love of literature sustain the relationship. By the end of their four days of conversation, they have formed the beginnings of a friendship, won through an intense effort to understand and appreciate the differences between them.

The second VIS a VIS production is entitled Blue & Black and is scheduled to air on Thursday, September 3 at 10 PM ET on PBS (check local listings), a week after Beyond The Veil In this program, Sergeant Hendriek Mohale of the South African Police Service in Soweto meets his counterpart, Sergeant David Van of the 23rd Police District in Philadelphia. The two black policemen explore how they are coping with crime in their respective neighborhoods, and a legacy of racism where they work and live.

VIS a VIS is made possible by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Ford Foundation, the Soros Documentary Fund, and The Rockefeller Foundation. The series was originally developed in Europe by Patrice Barrat and Kim Spencer. VIS a VIS is a Yerosha Production in association with Unitel Video, Inc. for Internews Network. Executive producer is Kim Spencer. Series producer is Steven Lawrence. Senior producer is Dale Riehl. Editor is Susanne Rostock.

Beyond The Veil is produced and directed by Steven Lawrence and Kim Spencer. Edited by Susanne Rostock. Senior producer: Dale Riehl. Location producer, Iran: Persheng Vaziri. Associate producer: Hilary Birmingham. Directors of photography: Samuel Henriques (U.S.) and Olivier Raffet (Iran). Production supervisors: Vince Malmgren (U.S.) and Vahid Nikkhah Azad & Fereshteh Taerpour (Iran). Sound engineers: Jim Gilchrist (U.S.) and Joel Flescher (Iran). Original music: Tony Adzinikolov. Vis a Vis theme music: Miki Navazio. Title design: Artichoke, New York.

For information, contact: July 1998

Michael Shepley
212-786-1716
FAX 212-786-1883
email: shepleypr@aol.com

Persheng Vaziri
email: persheng@internews.org

Related links

* Iran News
* Complete list of Iranian online media
* Cover stories
* Who's who