The House Is Black
About The House Is Black
Forugh Farrokhzad's short looks at daily life in the Bababaghi Hospice, a leper colony in northern Iran. She reads from the Old Testament, the Qur'an, and her own poems over the pictures. The opening sets the ugliness in the world beside religion and gratitude. The camera stays with the people of the colony.
Cast & crew
More about The House Is Black
Farrokhzad directed and wrote it. Ebrahim Golestan produced it and appears with her and Hossein Mansouri on the catalog cast. Wikidata times it at 22 minutes. It is the only film she directed. She died in 1967. After the shoot she adopted a boy from the colony, her son Hossein. Persian language. Iran.
Themes
In film history
It is the only film Farrokhzad directed before her death in 1967.
Making
Farrokhzad adopted Hossein from the colony after filming.
Music
Farrokhzad's spoken track uses the Old Testament, the Qur'an, and her poems. No composer is listed.
Preservation
A restored print debuted at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019.
Notes
- A restored print was shown at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019.
- The catalog places the colony in the north of Iran.
- Golestan is both producer, on the Wikipedia credits, and a name on the cast list.
Awards
- Grand prize, documentary category, International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, 1963
Scenes
- The opening statement on ugliness.
- Patients at Bababaghi under the recited verses.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The House Is Black خانه سیاه است.webm)