Hafez
Hafez was born in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, somewhere between 1317 and 1326 CE. His father, a merchant, moved the family to Shiraz while Hafiz was still a child and died early in the boy’s life. Though the loss of his father put the family in difficult circumstances, Hafez managed to become quite well educated, being fluent in both Arabic and Persian, and memorizing the Qur’an at an early age (the pen name ‘Hafez’ is a title given to one who has committed the Islamic holy book to memory).
Tongue of the Hidden Film
Characters and environment created entirely from the letters and the written words of the 13th-century Persian metaphysical poet Hafez. An original and kinetic meditation offering insight into Iranian culture beyond the two dimensional popular view.
This film first appeared on Channel 4.
Credits
Director: David Anderson, a filmmaker whose work has encompassed experimental animation, drama, theatre and dance, trained at Bath Academy of Art and the National Film and Television School.
Artist: Jila Peacock was born in Iran, studied medicine and fine art in London then moved to Glasgow in 1990. Her paintings have been widely exhibited in shows across the UK. In her latest book Ten Poems from Hafez, her calligraphic images of animals are entirely formed from the original Arabic script of the poems.
