Iranian film mogul Bahram Beyzai dies at 87

Tributes have been widely paid to Iranian film and theater giant Bahram Beyzai, who has died in the United States at the age of 87.

The front pages of Iranian newspapers mourned his death, and opposition voices and those who looked back fondly on the Shah’s era also paid tribute to Bezai.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last king, described his death as a “huge loss to our country’s art and culture.”

Although Bezai’s later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime that overthrew the shah, some senior figures in the current government also paid tribute to his contribution to Iranian culture.

Several current Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged being indebted to him, including Jaafar Panahi – His latest film won the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival – said he taught them “how to face oblivion.”

Whether as a playwright or film director, Bezai avoided direct political content in his work and always said he tried not to convey overt messages.

But his work spanning decades has pitted historical and even mythical figures against oppressive religious and political systems.

Bezai was born into a family of famous poets and was influenced by the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

He first made his name as a playwright, drawing on Persian legends and rituals.

A lifelong film buff, he began his involvement in filmmaking in the 1970s.

He is regarded as one of the key figures of the new wave of Iranian cinema.

His most productive period spanned the age of the king and then the Islamic theocracy that deposed him—two systems ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that might be interpreted as dissent.

As Jaafar Panahi said in his eulogy: “Bezai did not choose the easy path. He endured years of ostracism, imposed silence and distance, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs.”

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he created “Bashu, the Little Stranger”, considered by many to be a masterpiece, which tells the story of a little boy trying to escape the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran – like other films he made during that period – but was later voted by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year’s Venice Film Festival and won the Best Film Award in the Classics section.

Bezai eventually left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years teaching Iranian culture in the United States.

Although he left his homeland, his wife, actress Mohd Shamsay, said he still gets tears in his eyes whenever he hears the word Iran, and he remains hopeful for his homeland’s new culture and future.