Bahram Beyzai
He is a director, producer, screenwriter and editor who was born in Tehran, Iran, on December 26, 1938. He entered the art world at an early age. In high school, he wrote two historical comedies that became his preferred method of writing. He then entered the University of Tehran, but did not finish his studies due to a lack of interest in the subject he was studying. It was then that he began researching Iranian theater and epic literature. At age 21, he did extensive research on the “Book of Kings” (Shahnameh) and the Ta’azie. He also studied pre-Islamic history and became familiar with Persian painting.
The next ten years of his life were spent writing for various publications on oriental art and Iranian theater. He also wrote several articles on cinema, which became the subject of one of his books. It was during this period that Beyzai wrote some of his masterpieces: “The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad”, “Banquet”, “Serpent King”, “Dolls”, “History of the Hidden Moon” and many others …
In 1968, he was one of the first to join the Iran Writers Association (Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran). He began his film career with a successful short film titled “Uncle Mustache” (Amu Sibilú) in 1970. Shortly after, he directed and produced his masterpiece “Ragbaar” with the late Parviz Fannizadeh in the title role. Since then, he has produced and directed another eight films and has contributed significantly to the development of cinema and theater in Iran. Despite his popularity and knowledge, Beyzai never won government support, before or after the Islamic revolution. After almost 20 years, two of his films, “The Death of Yazdgerd” and “The Ballad of Tara”, have not yet received the screening permission. Both films have been suspended because they do not conform to the Islamic code currently used in the Iranian film industry. “Bashu the Little Stranger” would have been his third archived film. But he finally got a screening permit after the end of the Iran-Iraq war. The film tells the story of a boy who lost his home and family in the war.
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