Yankee Go Home is a documentary about an American family who lived in Iran when the cusp of the Iranian Islamic Revolution exploded in 1977-1978.

The Mattson family moved to Tehran, Iran, in 1977, pursuing a life of adventure and new endeavors related to Bill’s exciting new job at Abbot Labs Ian. Little did they know what would happen during their stay in this country.

Tehran was nothing like we know it today. It was an exotic, robust, and vibrant city, like any other modern city in the world with many outside interests. Multiple American and European companies saw the potential for Iran to be a boom market.

Tehran was trying to become a modern city in transition, growing too rapidly for its infrastructure and wanting to compete with other capitals in the world but its poor structure and corruption made it difficult to navigate.

This was one of the challenges the Mattson family faced during their time in the country while they adapted to this new culture something else was unraveling in the political environment in Iran. The Iranian Islamic Revolution was about to start.

The country began to unravel, and martial law was declared. Todd at that time 8 years old still remembers seeing 50 Chieftain tanks roll down the street, watching in awe, without fear. The adults, however, knew what this tumult meant. It meant that they were in danger, as illustrated by death threats, and the shooting of an American neighbor.

The experience was fantastic, scary, and still relevant today. When they only expected to live a relax life while Bill grew an international company, life decided to through a ball; The Mattson family lived through history.

Having an expat life is not always glamorous and easy. You need to face the challenges of being an outsider and not knowing the culture and traditions. The Mattson family shared this with us in this documentary.