If you read and watch entertainment news, you know that an Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadiis, is racking up the Hollywood awards for A Separation even in a climate of US-imposed sanctions. And if you're paying attention to most media coverage, you're well aware of the nuclear issue. But other than that, do we have a lens into the lives and stories of Iranians? Does this kind of cultural lens matter as we settle into our perspectives about Iran? Yes. Without showing the lives, struggles and culture of everyday people living and working in Iran, we in the West have a potentially skewed image of Iranians.

In 2006, Link TV developed a documentary TV series, Bridge to Iran, to provide a window into the lives and struggles of everyday Iranians -- to respond to the cultural and political tensions that have developed between Iran and the US since the Iranian Revolution.  Over the years, Bridge to Iran has covered a wide range of social and political issues in modern Iran, including the experiences of young girls facing womanhood and uncertain futures, religious pilgrims who risk their lives to visit a holy site in war-torn Iraq, rural life and political awareness, an exploration of Tehran as an urban metropolis, and Iranian women's participation in the election process.

The new season premieres on February 14. In each of the four episodes of Bridge to Iran, in-depth discussions between host Parisa Soultani and top Iranian filmmakers provide a unique lens into some of the challenges and realities facing Iranians during a time of increased instability -- including censorship, sanctions and safety concerns.

Here are the details about the films and when to catch the episodes, on Link TV or online:

• Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution, directed by Nader Takmil Homayoun, explores the history and politics of Iran through its rich filmmaking tradition; premieres on February 14 at 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT and February 16 at 10:00pm PT. Watch online starting February 14.

• The Queen and I, directed by Nahid Sarvestani, documents the filmmaker's complex relationship with the exiled former queen of Iran; premieres on February 21 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT and February 23 at 10:00pm PT. Watch online now!

• We Are Half of Iran's Population, directed by Rakhshan Bani Etemad, looks at women's participation in the controversial 2009 elections; premieres on February 28 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT and March 1 at 10:00pm PT. Watch online now!

• Siah Bazi (The Joy Makers), directed by Maryam Khakipour, traces the demise of a popular form of irreverent street theater; premieres on March 6 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT and March 8 at 10:00pm PT. Watch online starting March 6.

Bridge to Iran offers a diverse perspective on a country on the receiving end of a torrent of media attention -- but with a lens that's inclusive of the people and the art found within Iranian borders. We hope you'll tune in and tell others.

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Caty Borum Chattoo is a producer and communication strategist with Link TV, assistant professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, DC, and media fellow with the AU Center for Social Media.

(Guest blog from the director of "The Edge of Joy", originally posted on the PBS NewsHour website)

In the time it takes to read this post, somewhere in the world a pregnant woman will have started hemorrhaging and her baby might soon be motherless. One thousand women die every day trying to bring new life into the world, and this toll is what drew me to shoot my documentary film, The Edge of Joy.

I encountered many of the heartbreaking and hopeful stories that underpin this global tragedy, but it was only through the people, the doctors and nurses of Nigeria that I was able to tell them. The roughly one dozen Nigerian doctors and midwives I worked with closely over the course of making the film, didn't push agendas, or act as obstructionists when I asked tough questions or wanted to follow story lines to their natural conclusions.

Nigeria is better known for corruption and oil production than as the vanguard of fighting maternal mortality, but this small close-knit group of men and a handful of women trusted me not to create an indicting portrait of pregnancy and childbirth in their West African country.

Documentary filmmaking is an art, not a science, and at times during the making of this film, the process was challenging. I always kept my questions dignified and did my reproductive health homework so I could ask informed questions in hospitals and in the communities.

Getting permission to film in such sensitive settings requires government approval, a process that Habib Sadauki, the second obstetrician/gynecologist to be trained in the Nigerian state of Kano, helped me through.

After many meetings with the Ministry of Health and a mutual understanding that I would have a "minder" assigned to me while filming in the north, I was given permission to film in tertiary hospitals and primary health centers.

What I didn't know at the time is that the then Minister of Health Babatunde Osotimehin, recently appointed executive director of the UN Population Fund, had approved the access himself. During his tenure as minister, his office approved some ground breaking research about postpartum hemorrhaging.

I caught up with Osotimehin in May of 2009 at a health conference in Los Angeles. Our scheduled time to sit down and talk on camera kept being pushed back, so I made the bold move of taking over the role of the waitress at the café where he was enjoying a coffee.

Handing him a glass of water, I introduced myself as the filmmaker who had been documenting maternal health initiatives in Nigeria. I kept going on and on and he stopped me and said something to the effect of "you are persistent and persuasive just like they say" and with that got up, and came to sit with me for more than an hour.

We discussed safe motherhood, community leadership for better healthcare and, at the conclusion of our interview he shook my hand and said "your access is continued, enjoy your next trip to Nigeria." My field director and I began breaking down the equipment and she asked why I looked dazed. I said I was not even aware our access had to be renewed.

The freedom to shoot in medical settings was crucial to documenting the harsh realities of giving birth in Nigeria. In the film, blood became a ubiquitous character: women were losing too much of it, there wasn't enough of it when you needed it and midwives were always trying to keep it from flowing.

"Hemorrhage requires that you stop the bleeding and you repair the blood loss. If you don't repair (replace) the blood loss the woman will die," Sadauki told me.

We documented a case of severe bleeding where the midwives were able to manage a patient's hemorrhage with a drug and saline until her husband found a pint of blood and she received the transfusion in time to save her life.

And there are new tools on the horizon. A low-tech first aid device, known as the non-pneumatic anti-shock garment, shunts blood out of the extremities and back to the vital organs in cases of hemorrhage. No magic bullet, but a potential game changer for women giving birth in the developing world and new hope for the health care providers.

After I showed this film recently, I was embraced by a woman in the audience who thanked me for saving the world. Locked in a bear hug with a complete stranger, I thought to myself: "Thank you, but no, I'm not saving the world, I just make films about people who are saving the world."

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Dawn Sinclair Shapiro's documentary film, The Edge of Joy, which was featured on PBS NewsHour in April 2011 as a selection of the PBS NewsHour partnership project with The Economist magazine -- the Economist Film Project -- will premiere on independent Link TV on Friday, October 28, at 5 pm ET and Tuesday, November 1, at 8 pm ET, and will stream on Link TV's ViewChange.org beginning on Tuesday, October 25. The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, an international journalism organization, has created an online curriculum that accompanies the film to be distributed to high school educators around the country; educators and others can download the film for free to accompany the curriculum at www.viewchange.org.

One Kenyan’s Dream, Building A Future for Many: Film Contest Grand-Prize-Winner Aaron Kisner speaks on his film’s inspirational leader

Vision. It’s what we at Link TV’s ViewChange.org hoped to showcase in our Online Film Contest— the vision to raise awareness, inspire action, and accelerate the worldwide movement to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Launched in April, 2010, we received 136 powerful entries—in the form of documentary, short drama, music video, and animation—by September. Then the judging began: votes were cast by viewers like you, and our panel of celebrity judges chose their top picks. In November, the winners were announced, and all contest films were streamed on ViewChange.org.

Vision. It’s what drove Kakenya Ntaiya, an unbelievably courageous woman from the Maasai Village in Kenya, to defy all odds and become the first woman in her village to leave Africa to obtain a college education in America. The revolutionary vision to change the lives of Maasai girls compelled Kakenya to pursue a dream of teaching.  She has just completed a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh and is now planning to fulfill the promise she made to her village when she left—the promise to give back. Kakenya started an academy for underprivileged girls in her village in 2009, which is growing every year thanks to her advocacy and outside support.

What a story! We were sure blown away. It’s what inspired filmmaker Aaron Kisner to create the grand-prize-winning-entry Vital Voices: Kakenya showcasing this envisioned Kenyan’s story, dream and action. For his incredible video, Link TV presented Kisner with an award of $25,000! He then proceeded to blow us away yet again—choosing to give away all the money to fund a dorm for Kakenya’s academy for girls.

Be the change you hope to inspire. There’s no better example of it than right here. Kakenya set an example in her community by giving back through the education of others. Kisner is setting an example in our community to give back through charity and support of those working toward a better life. In an article for the Huffington Post, Kisner writes about what inspired him to make the film:

“In what Kakenya is doing, I see a woman who is taking care of the world, and it makes me feel like things can get better. Most importantly, it reminds me that it's women like Kakenya who lead change. From within.

"The stakes are high. The course towards a more equitable life for girls has been mapped, but the outcome is not guaranteed. This school and its students must succeed. Many are watching from both sides of an ideological divide. I want them all to know that I stand with Kakenya. As do hundreds of thousands of supporters who have heard her story and joined in the effort to spread it.

"As a director, I don't think I have a right to tell other people how they should live their lives, but my work can still play a part in positive social change.”

Of the six film contest categories, Vital Voices: Kakenya won the category “Overcoming Conflict.” Having come from a culture that is oppressive toward women, Kakenya has struggled from a young age against the expectations required of her as she ascends womanhood. Kisner describes her struggles with the humiliating ritual of female genital cutting:

“At puberty, every Maasai girl endures an excruciating circumcision, and at that point, she is available for marriage. No anesthetic is used, and any girl who remains 'uncut' is considered unclean; a disgrace to her family. So, Kakenya bargained with the only thing she had. She confronted her father and threatened to run away. She would remain uncut and bring him shame unless he agreed to let her finish school."

Because of her experiences, Kakenya has become an advocate against sexist practices in the Kenyan community. Beyond the standard academic subjects, she includes a health curriculum educating girls on genital circumcision, reproductive health, HIV/AIDS awareness and negotiating power in future sexual relationships. Other educational components include Leadership Training and Culture Preservation. The Kakenya Center for Excellence is the first primary girls’ school in the region, and has a goal of enrolling 150 students in grades four to eight.

As an independent director based in New York, Kisner works with non-profits to tell their stories in a compelling, accessible way. He has created a series of short films in collaboration with Vital Voices Global Partnership, ExxonMobil Foundation, Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Kisner made this film in collaboration with the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit organizations that invests in women leaders, offering training, mentorship, connections, and opportunities to bring their stories to the world stage.

For Kakenya’s entire story, check out Vital Voices: Kakenya:

Read Aaron Kisner's complete Huffington Post article.

Cambria Matlow is a freelance film director who has worked on several short films probing controversial world issues, and served as manager of non-theatrical programming at Film Movement, an independent and foreign film distribution company. Matlow makes her documentary directorial debut in Burning in the Sun, the story of a budding entrepreneur inspired to make a positive impact on his homeland community in Mali. To fund this ViewChange Online Film Contest-winning project, Matlow tapped into her own entrepreneur potential and co-founded Birdgirl Productions in 2005. She writes in the Huffington Post about why she chose her film’s aspiring protagonist:

"Twenty-six-year-old charmer Daniel Dembélé is equal parts West African and European, and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels — the first of its kind in the sun-drenched nation. Daniel's goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99 percent of which live without power.

"For us, Daniel's work shatters notions of the need for African dependence on outside aid and embraces the view that ultimately it is Africans who will develop Africa in their own way.

"It is important to us for the film to showcase him as an African leader, not only of his country, but as a global trendsetter. So not only do viewers come away with a greater understanding of the kind of development that makes the most sense for Africa, but a sense of profound inspiration that they can take the action they have seen and apply it in their own communities."

For an inside view on Daniel's daring, charisma and intelligence, watch Burning in the Sun:

Read Cambria Matlow's full article in the Huffington Post.

Robin Blotnick has worked as a freelance editor, and as a developer at Walden Media. His current project, "Gods and Kings," is a feature documentary about media, magic and popular culture in the Mayan highlands of Guatemala. If it is anything like his award-winning entry for our ViewChange Online Film Contest — Chocolate Country — then we want to see it! Chocolate Country is a catchy story about a group of guitar-plucking cacao farmers in the Dominican Republic. In the Huffington Post, Blotnick describes the idea behind his work:

“The story I set out to tell was the story of chocolate itself. I wanted to show city people what a mazorca of cacao looks like when it's cut open to reveal its syrupy white seeds. And I wanted to reveal the faces of the men and women who grow and harvest the ingredients for our chocolate bars.”

The short film features the lush, beautiful rainforest region of Loma Guaconejo. The campesinos (farmers) of the area had decided to stop competing with each other against the harsh competition set out by the big cacao companies, and were now working together in a cooperative. They work to directly market an improved, organic product. Blotnick expresses his admiration for their enthusiasm to engage in their community:

“People always remark at how, despite their poverty, the cacao growers in Chocolate Country seem genuinely happy. I believe they're happy because they're empowered. Working together, they're taking some control over the fate of their community. My wish for the people of Loma Guaconejo is that they develop in a way that doesn't alleviate the bad by sacrificing what's good: the freedom of working without a plantation or factory boss, the music and stories they have time to create and share, their ties to the land and, most of all, their ties to one another.

"While being a "conscious consumer" no doubt does some good (or, more accurately, un-does some bad), I'm under no illusion that it's enough. If we really want to transform the conditions that maintain human suffering, we'll have to transform ourselves first, to break out of the passive role of consumer and unite with our neighbors to actively engage the forces of history. In other words, we'll have to be more like the members of the Loma Guaconejo cooperative.”

To hear the music and stories of the empowered campesinos, watch Chocolate Country below:

Read Robin Blotnick full article in the Huffington Post.