🔗 Share this article

Widespread tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with dissenting figures and those who reflect nostalgically on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"This loss is an immense tragedy for the art and culture 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 theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his oeuvre over many decades sets archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage of renowned poets, Beyzai was steeped in the deepest traditions of Iranian artistry from birth.

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

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

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the new wave of Persian film.

An Enduring Voice

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

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to find shelter from the Iran-Iraq war.

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

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

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.