🔗 Share this article

Profound homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," said the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a host of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

From a family of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

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

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many regard as his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy who tries to find shelter from the devastating conflict.

It was censored in Iran—as were other films he made in that time—but later voted by film critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

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

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his homeland.