| Americans Emad and Bahareh Shargi never expected their family to be torn apart while visiting Iran, the country of their birth. But when Iranian officials took Emad hostage as a pawn in nuclear proliferation talks, Bahareh and her two daughters, Ariana and Hannah, were forced into unlikely roles to try to free him.
Their story unfolds in our latest Opinions short documentary film entitled "Bring Them Home" that now can be viewed exclusively on The Washington Post. Co-directors Kate Woodsome and Ray Whitehouse spent countless hours filming the Shargis of Washington, D.C. — and interviewing top U.S. officials spanning two administrations — to capture the limits of what any individual family can do when trapped between two governments at odds with each other. "Bring Them Home" is the result of nearly a year's work of reporting, writing, filming and editing, and is part of a larger Post Opinions series shedding light on a disturbing new trend: More Americans are now being held hostage overseas by foreign governments than by terrorist groups or criminal gangs. "International laws and norms are increasingly becoming optional for world powers, and innocent families are paying the price," Woodsome said. "Our film helps people see and feel the nightmare these families are living through." Thank you for reading — and watching. | 
Email 
