Please join HLS Advocates for Human Rights and the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World for a special scree ning of Firewall\, a short film written and directed by Iranian-Texan filmm aker Bita Ghassemi.
Firewall follows Ani\, an Iranian-American girl g rowing up in rural Texas who longs for her father—lost and unreachable behi nd Iran’s internet firewall. When he mysteriously returns\, ancient Persian mythology begins to blend with her reality\, forcing Ani to confront the d emons that have kept her from finding peace.
Reimagining the ancient Persian legend of “Zahhak the Serpent King” in a contemporary Texas setting \, the film draws parallels between myth and reality to reflect the urgency of Iran’s present climate.
The screening will be followed by a live Q&A with writer/director Bita Ghassemi\, moderated by HLS S.J.D. Candidate Arnaaz Ameer.
Lunch will be provided. Location TBD.
CATEGORIES:Film LOCATION:WCC B015 GEO:0.000000;0.000000 ORGANIZER;CN="Eli Cooper":MAILTO:ecooper@jd27.law.harvard.edu URL;VALUE=URI:https://hls.harvard.edu/events/firewall-screening/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://hls.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Color1_Vertical.jpeg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 DTSTART:20251102T060000 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR