If you remember Alexandre Desplat’s score for the Academy Award-winning film Argo, you might recall the exotic woman’s voice who helped anchor the Iran sections of the film. That woman is Sussan Deyhim.
The House Is Black Media Project is a multi-media celebration of the work of poet and filmmaker Forough Farrokhzad. Her first volume of poetry was published in 1955. One of her most important works is a film about leprosy in Iran. That film, The House Is Black, is considered one of the best films of the Iranian New Wave.
Farrokhzad died in 1967 in a car accident.Her feminist point-of-view garnered the attention of those in charge during the Islamic Revolution and was banned for quite some time.
Deyhim is an Iranian-American composer, vocalist and artist who uses more than just her beautiful voice to express her views on women, human rights and more.
This piece was previously performed at UCLA in 2015. In the short time since those performances, the issues addressed have sadly become even more relevant.