Tongue of the Hidden


The poet Hafez, The Teller of Secrets, used the language of human love and metaphor to describe his intoxication with the mysteries of the Universe.


Credits

Directed by David Alexander Anderson
Calligraphy, Translation and Narration Jila Peacock
Animation Florian Guibert
Kaleidoscope and Additional Animation Jerome Dernoncourt
Music, Composed and Performed by Anoosh Jahanshahi
Music Recorded and Produced by Jack Pickett
Additional Calligraphy Animation Brigitta Anderson
Production Executive Hector Macleod


Synopses

A hidden tongue tells tales and shows animations of calligraphy.

The poet Hafez, The Teller of Secrets, used the language of human love and metaphor to describe his intoxication with the mysteries of the Universe.

The poet Hafez, also known as the Teller of Secrets, used the language of human love and the metaphors of wine and drunkenness to describe his desire for the Divine and intoxication with the mysteries of the Universe. Contrast the current, often narrow, view of the media on Iran with the profundity and sophistication of Persian (Iranian) culture and its influence. The landscapes and characters from the film are all constructed of Persian calligraphy.


Technical information

Hand-drawn Farsi (Persian/Iranian) calligraphy is imported into the computer and forms the basis of constructed landscapes, and animals that move within landscapes. Software was Studio Max, Maya, XSI and After Effects.


Full credits

Directed by David Alexander Anderson
Calligraphy, Translation and Narration Jila Peacock
Animation Florian Guibert
Kaleidoscope and Additional Animation Jerome Dernoncourt
Music, Composed and Performed by Anoosh Jahanshahi
Music Recorded and Produced by Jack Pickett
Additional Calligraphy Ahmad Khonsari
Additional Calligraphy Animation Brigitta Anderson
Post Production Glassworks

With thanks
All at Glassworks: Hector Macleod, Anthea Mousley, Misha Stanford-Harris, Hannah McDonald, William Isaac, Syed Shah, William Davies, Duncan Cook, Andrew Kidd, King Lau

Also Rebecca Meitlis, Joe Staines, Ornan Rotem and Sylph Editions Books, Phil Pickett, Magali Charrier

The team at Animate Projects: Jacqui Davies, Gary Thomas, Abigail Addison

In memory of Helen Anderson and Dick Arnall


Collaborator

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 Farsi script of the poems. The work was exhibited in the 2006 British Museum exhibition entitled Word into Art.

Ten Poems from Hafez by Jila Peacock is available from Sylph Editions.