Invisible Hands 2019

Invisible Hands is a three-part documentary film about the Persian carpet industry in Iran. Over the course of three years, I interviewed weavers, dyers, and factory owners throughout different parts of Iran. My sister asked me to take part in a carpet weaving course in Iran. There I discovered the challenging conditions under which Persian carpets, often selling for tens of thousands of pounds in the West, are produced in Iran.

The film consists of three parts, each illustrating the various socio-economic elements of the industry. The film begins in my home town of Shiraz, where I interview my weaving instructor Elahe Rastayesh. In the second part, I speak with two women, living in a rural town, who work collaboratively for months on large carpets, earning what little money they can to support their families. The trilogy finishes at a factory, where a male owner, who is in charge of many women working in an assembly line on an enormous carpet, shows me around.