"The House is Black"
1962
Directed by Forough Farrokhzad

A film of staggering force, lyrically composed by one of the 20th century's leading poets, The House Is Black is a revelation. In the 1960s, lionized poet Forough Farrokhzad directed her first and only film. It depicts the lives and bodies of people tragically deformed by leprosy. This is a film of stirring and powerful images, and a beautifully, tragically poetic narration. The House Is Black has heavily influenced the modern Iranian cinema of such great filmmakers as Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who called it "the best Iranian film." It provides, in the film's own words, "a vision of pain no caring human being should ignore." Farsi with English subtitles.  22 minutes.