The House Is Black – Forough Farrokhzad (1962)

The House is Black is an acclaimed Iranian documentary short film directed by Forough Farrokhzad.
The film is a look at life and suffering in a leper colony and focuses on the human condition and the beauty of creation. It is spliced with Farrokhzad’s narration of quotes from the Old Testament, the Koran and her own poetry. It was the only film she directed before her death in 1967. During the shooting she became attached to a child of two lepers, whom she later adopted.
Although the film attracted little attention outside Iran when released, it has since been recognised as a landmark in Iranian film. Reviewer Eric Henderson described the film; “One of the prototypal essay films, The House is Black paved the way for the Iranian New Wave.

Demonstrators rally at Kinder Morgan offices near the Port of Seattle

The Dignity Virus

Activists from around the Pacific Northwest gathered at Seattle’s Harbor Island, home to the Kinder Morgan offices. The rally was held in solidarity with the protests in British Columbia, as residents of Burnaby Mountain have recently been arrested during protest of a pipeline built across indigenous land. Chief Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation spoke to the crowd of nearly 100 demonstrators.  Having just been in the heart of the protests on Burnaby, words of appreciation were spoken to crowd as Chief Rueben George thanked them for their presence. According to activist and community organizer, Carlo Voli, the protestors made their way past the lone guard and into the Kinder Morgan offices, delivering their message in person.

From the event Facebook page…

“Lets gather on Sunday to express our support for those who have been arrested and all those who are protecting Burnaby Mountain from Kinder Morgan’s survey work.

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UW Students Lead Procession for the Ayotzinapa 43

You go UW

The Dignity Virus

Dozens of demonstrators gathered at the Ethnic Cultural Center at the University of Washington for a procession to Red Square, calling for justice for the 43 missing Mexican students on Friday, November 14th, 2014.

From the event Facebook page…

“The University of Washington social justice organization Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan (MeChA) is leading a procession in solidarity for the 43 students from Ayoztinapa Normal School.

– 43 students from the rural town of Ayotzinapa in Guerrero Mexico are missing
– They were last seen 9/26/14 on the way to a demonstration to protest the diversion of state education funding to their school and other rural schools.
– Police were given orders by the mayor to confront the students.
– Police blocked the road and shot at the students
– Police took the students and handed them over to a local gang
– The students have not been seen si

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