🔗 Share this article

Widespread tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died aged 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"His passing is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many 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 direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always said he tried not to trade in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades sets archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian structures of power.

A Cultural Foundation

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

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

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as 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 time—but later voted by film critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

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

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he lectured on Iranian culture.

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a new culture and tomorrow for his native land.