🔗 Share this article Iranian Cinema Titan, Beyzai, Dies Aged 87 Bahram Beyzai (left) with his wife, actress Mozhdeh Shamsai Profound homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 while residing in the United States. Homeland in Mourning The front pages of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai. "His passing is an immense tragedy for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, son of the last Shah of Iran. Although Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his legacy to Persian arts. A Mentor to Filmmakers Several of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed them "how to stand up to oblivion." Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to trade in explicit commentary. But his work over many decades sets archetypal characters in opposition with oppressive structures of power. A Cultural Foundation Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Iranian artistry from birth. He first rose to prominence as a playwright, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies. A devotee of cinema, he moved into filmmaking in the 1970s. He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Persian film. Navigating Censorship His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with both systems constantly poised to detect subtext that could be seen as dissent. "Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute. The Little Stranger A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as 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 other films 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 newly remastered print at this year's Venice Film Festival, winning 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. Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.