🔗 Share this article

Profound tributes are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away at the age of 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his legacy to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt 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 cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to trade in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades places archetypal characters in opposition with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Iranian artistry from birth.

He first rose to prominence as a theater writer, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

A devotee of cinema, he transitioned to making films in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the key figures in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with each regime constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

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

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

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

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on Persian studies.

Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a new culture and future for his homeland.