Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Film and Media Studies, 23 (2023) 144–159
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ausfm-2023-0008
Abstract: The House is Black is a lyrical documentary by a modernist Iranian poet and filmmaker, Forough Farrokhzad. It is a kind of symbolic visual poem about leper patients of a leprosarium in Iran made in 1962, which transcends time and place. This paper describes the ways in which the emphasis on the human body, references to historical and religious sources, and the use of the Biblical verses replace conventional interviews to create a narrative in the film. Utilizing Gilles Deleuze’s concept of affect, the paper analyses the camera’s focus on hands and feet, in contrast to absent facial expressions, which engages the audience.
Keywords: Forough Farrokhzad, Gilles Deleuze, documentary, human body, Biblical poetry.
SAPIENTIA HUNGARIAN UNIVERSITY OF TRANSYLVANIA
The Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania is the independent university of the Hungarian community in Romania, which aims at providing education to the members of our community and performing scientific research on a high professional level.
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania,
Scientia Publishing House
Acta Universitatis Sapientiae
RO 400112 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Str. Matei Corvin nr. 4.
Email: acta @ acta.sapientia.ro
