🔗 Share this article Persian Cinema Giant, Bahram Beyzai, Dies At the Age of 87 Beyzai pictured alongside his spouse, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai Widespread tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 in the US. Homeland in Mourning The front pages of publications in Iran lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai. "This loss is an immense tragedy for the art and culture 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 theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts. A Mentor to Filmmakers Several of the current crop of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion." Beyzai steered clear of direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always said he tried not to trade in overt messages. But his oeuvre over countless years places historical, even mythic figures in conflict with authoritarian structures of power. A Cultural Foundation From a family of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth. He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies. A devotee of cinema, he transitioned to making films in the 1970s. He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Persian film. Navigating Censorship His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as dissent. "Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated 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 young child 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 critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time. The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for best film in the heritage category. A Hopeful Exile Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he lectured on Persian studies. Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of 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.