Almost ten thousand Palestinians, designated by the Israeli government as "Security Prisoners," are incarcerated in Israel today. Most Israelis consider them murderers and criminals, but most Palestinians regard them as freedom fighters.

Granted rare permission to film inside the country's highest security facilities, Israeli filmmaker Shimon Dotan shows everyday prison life, including biweekly family visits, internal elections, periodic security searches of cells, and relations between inmates and prison staff. HOTHOUSE also features interviews with many Palestinian prisoners, including those involved in suicide bombings. Although their political demands for an end to the occupation and full rights of citizenship are understandable, the bloodcurdling confessions of these proud, unrepentant and often smiling terrorists expose the moral disconnect required for such inhuman actions.

HOTHOUSE also makes it clear that the Israeli criminal justice system uses imprisonment to stifle or control Palestinian democratic political life, revealing that 13 prisoners, who were not involved in terrorist or military actions, were political candidates in the 2006 Palestinian elections, which saw the rise to power of the militant Islamic party, Hamas. In this regard, the film shows how Israeli prisons have become incubators for political education and debate, which often influences Palestinian society at large.

The Palestinian experience in Israeli prisons has become a national symbol in Palestine, and the prisons themselves have become virtual universities for Palestinian nationalism, shaping the prisoners' ideology, strengthening their political convictions, and, as was the case on South Africa's Robben Island or in the H-Blocks in Northern Ireland, enabling the development of future political leaders.

"A candid and provocative documentary... Enlightening but disquieting... a humanizing, deeply disturbing look at a detention process that affects nearly every Palestinian in the Occupied Territories, a documentary that leaves one in stunned silence at the end."—Rebecca Romani, Al Jadid: A Review and Record of Arab Culture and Arts

"Endlessly fascinating... a movie that undercuts viewers' preconceptions, invites them to make interpretations and forces them to question their sympathies—especially regarding the Middle East—deserves plaudits... This is the rare doc that leaves audiences confounded, and in a bit of a state. You likely won't change your position, but you won't be as dead certain of it as you were when the lights dimmed."—Michael Fox, Chicago Jewish Star

"An extraordinary, brilliantly shot and edited look at life for some of the nearly 10,000 Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisons, men's and women's."—Howard Feinstein, indieWIRE

"Chilling... insightful...a disquieting portrait of a community that, despite or even because of its shackles, remains fervently committed to its cause."—Variety

"A candid and unflinching portrait... an excellent resource for teachers of politics and criminal justice... Highly recommended for academic and public libraries."—Educational Media Reviews Online

"HOTHOUSE presents glimmers of hope and... forebodings of despair. No doubt, both sides in this ongoing and tragic conflict will find things to both applaud and criticize."—Brumspeak: Advancing the Prospects for Peace and Security for Israel & the Middle East

"Shimon Dotan's penetrating camera offers no easy answers or single point of view, just a complex state of affairs that'll leave you stunned."—Now Magazine

"Remarkable, a coolly detached look at the potential next generation of Palestinian leaders...The fascination of HOTHOUSE derives in no small part from the ways that Dotan's interview subjects defy our expectations."—The Jewish Week

"Absorbing... full of remarkable interviews."—The New York Times