🔗 Share this article

Profound homages are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of publications in Iran lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"This loss is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," remarked the exiled prince, 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 host of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

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

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

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

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

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

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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

It was censored in Iran—as were other films he made in that time—but later chosen by 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.

A Hopeful Exile

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

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress 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 native land.