🔗 Share this article

Widespread tributes have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"His passing is a great loss 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 subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai steered clear of overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always said he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his work over countless years sets archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

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

He first rose to prominence as a playwright, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

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

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned 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 consider 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 period—but later voted by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for best film in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

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

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 future for his homeland.