🔗 Share this article

Widespread tributes are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the cultural heritage of our country," said Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over countless years sets historical, even mythic figures in opposition with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

From a family of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

He first found fame as a playwright, inspired by ancient myths and ceremonies.

A devotee of cinema, he moved into making films in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many consider his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—but later voted by critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for best film in the heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on Iranian culture.

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.