The House Is Black (1963) by Forugh Farrokhzad (Short Film Discussion)

"The only film directed by trailblazing feminist Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad finds unexpected grace where few would think to look: a leper colony whose inhabitants live, worship, learn, play, and celebrate in a self-contained community cut off from the rest of the world.

Through ruminative voiceover narration drawn from the Old Testament, the Koran, and the filmmaker’s own poetry and unflinching images that refuse to look away from physical difference, Farrokhzad creates a profoundly empathetic portrait of those cast off by society.

A key forerunner of the Iranian New Wave, The House Is Black is a triumph of transcendent lyricism from a visionary artist whose influence is only beginning to be fully appreciated." (Criterion)

"Farrokhzad is Iran's most revered female poet. She was a poet of great audacity and extraordinary talent. Her poetry was the poetry of protest — protest through revelation — the revelation of the innermost world of women (considered taboo until then), their intimate secrets and desires, their sorrows, longings, aspirations and at times even their articulation through silence. Her poems are still relevant in their advocacy for women’s liberation and independence." (Sholeh Wolpé)

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Let's discuss The House Is Black (1963) by acclaimed Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad. The work is often cited as one of the greatest short films ever made and a major precursor of the Iranian New Wave movement of the 1970s.

Please watch the movie in advance. You can stream the movie here. (22 minutes long)

I RECOMMEND TURNING ON CAPTIONS IN THE VIDEO PLAYER FOR EASIER-TO-READ SUBTITLES. (The white-on-white subtitles in the original are often hard to make out. You can also enlarge the video by using the zoom settings in your browser.)

Check out other film discussions in the group every Wednesday, Friday, and occasional Mondays.

Wikipedia:

Forugh Farrokhzad (Persian فروغ فرخزاد; December 1934 – 13 February 1967) was an influential Iranian poet and film director. She was a controversial modernist poet and an iconoclast, feminist author. Forugh Farrokhzad died at the age of 32 due to a car accident.

Her poetry was banned for more than a decade after the Islamic Revolution.