Bahram Bayzai
Encyclopedia
Bahrām Beyzāi is an Iran
ian film director
, theatre director, screenwriter
, playwright
, film editor, producer
, and researcher
.
Bahram Beyzai is the son of the poet Ostād Ne'mat'ollāh Beyzāi (best known by his literary pseudonym Zokā'i Beyzāi - ذکائی بیضائی). The celebrated poet Adib Ali Beyzāi, considered as one of the most profound poets of the twentieth-century Iran
, is Bahram Beyzai's paternal uncle. Bahram Beyzai's paternal grandfather, Mirzā Mohammad-Rezā Ārāni (Ebn Ruh - ابن روح), and paternal great-grandfather, the mulla Mohammad-Faqih Ārāni (Ruh'ol-Amin - روح الامین), were also renown poets.
Beyzai is part of a generation of filmmakers in the Iranian New Wave, a Persian cinema movement that started in the late 1960s and includes other pioneering directors such as Abbas Kiarostami
, Forough Farrokhzad
, Sohrab Shahid Sales, and Parviz Kimiavi
. The filmmakers share many common techniques including the use of poetic dialog, references to traditional Persian art and culture and allegorical story-telling often dealing with political and philosophical issues.
Beyzai was interested in the arts from a very young age. In high school, Dar'ol-Fonoun, he wrote two historical plays which went on to become his preferred method of writing. He studied literature at Tehran University, but started skipping school from around the age of 17 in order to go to movies which were becoming popular in Iran at a rapid pace. This only fed his hunger to learn more about the cinema of Iran
and the visual arts. At the age of 21 he did substantial research on the traditional Persian plays, Book of Kings (Shahname) and Ta'zieh
and by 1961 he had already spent a great deal of time studying and researching other ancient Persian
and pre-Islamic culture and literature. This in turn led him to studying Eastern theatre and traditional Iranian theatre and arts which would help him formulate a new non-western identity for Iranian theatre. He also became acquainted with Persian painting.
By late 1961 he had already published numerous articles in various arts and literary journals. In 1962 he made his first short film (4 minutes) in 8 mm format. In the next two years he wrote several plays and published "Theatre in Japan".
In the next eight or so years of his life throughout the early to late 1960s, Bayzai dedicated to writing in various publications about Eastern art and Persian literature enabled through his extensive study and also wrote a number of essays about Iranian cinema which later became the subject of one of his books. It is during this period that he wrote popular books which are often regarded as masterpieces; The Eight Voyage of Sinbad, Banquet, Serpant King, Dolls, The Story of the Hidden Moon and many more.
In 1968, Beyzai became one of the first people to join the Iranian Writer's Guild, a highly controversial organization in Iran in the face of censorship
, known as the Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran.
and the theatre is well known, but less well-known is his early work as a dramatist. As a young man Beyzai had always been fascinated by the traditions of Iranian theatre
, and this included the puppet
theatre. His "Se Nemayeshname-ye 'Arusaki" ("Three Puppet Plays") was published in 1963, and "The Marionettes" was the first one of these three plays. But for all that it is unmistakably based on the model of the traditional puppet
theatre, "The Marionettes" is shaped by other traditions, too. It is the work of someone au fait with the work of Pirandello and the Theatre of the Absurd
. In the 1960s, plays by dramatists such as Beckett
and Ionesco were often translated into the Persian language
and performed in Iran soon after their premieres in the West). Drawing on these varied influences, Beyzai's play is a little-known master-piece of twentieth-century drama.
Beyzaie's "Drama in Iran" (Namayesh dar Iran), published in late 1960s is still considered the most important text on the history of Iranian theater. Beyzaie is also the first scholar in Iran to publish books on theater in China and Japan.
Some of his plays such as his masterpiece "Marg-e Yazdgerd" ("Death of Yazdgerd") have been made into films.
نمایشنامه‌ها [ویرایش]مترسک‌ها در شب-۱۳۴۱
سه نمایشنامهٔ عروسکی:
عروسک‌ها-۱۳۴۱
غروب در دیاری غریب-۱۳۴۱
قصهٔ ماه پنهان-۱۳۴۲
پهلوان اکبر می‌میرد-۱۳۴۲
هشتمین سفر سندباد-۱۳۴۳
دنیای مطبوعاتی آقای اسراری-۱۳۴۵
سلطان‌مار-۱۳۴۵
میراث و ضیافت-۱۳۴۶
چهار صندوق-۱۳۴۶
ساحل نجات-۱۳۴۷
در حضور باد-۱۳۴۷
دیوان بلخ-۱۳۴۷
گمشدگان-۱۳۴۸
راه طوفانی فرمان پسر فرمان از میان تاریکی-۱۳۴۹
ندبه-۱۳۵۶
نوشته‌های دیواری-۱۳۵۷
مرگ یزدگرد-۱۳۵۸
خاطرات هنرپیشهٔ نقش دوم-۱۳۶۰
فتح‌نامه کلات-۱۳۶۱
پرده‌خانه-۱۳۶۴
جنگ‌نامه غلامان-۱۳۶۷
طرب‌نامه-۱۳۷۳
سهراب‌کشی-۱۳۷۳
مجلس بساط برچیدن-۱۳۷۶
افرا یا روز می‌گذرد-۱۳۷۶
مجلس قربانی سنمار-۱۳۷۷
گزارش ارداویراف-۱۳۷۸
مجلس ضربت زدن-۱۳۷۹
شب هزار و یکم-۱۳۸۲
دیوان نمایش (جلد یک و دو)-۱۳۸۲
مجلس شبیه در ذکر مصائب استاد نوید ماکان و همسرش مهندس رخشید فرزین-۱۳۸۳
تاراج نامه -[۴]۱۳۹۰
فیلم‌نامه‌ها [ویرایش]
Immediately after, in 1971, he made his first feature film "Ragbar" ("Downpour") which is regarded by critics to this day as one of the most successful Iranian films ever made. The successful film addresses the late Parviz Fannizadeh as its central character and protagonist
.
Since then he has produced and directed 8 films including Qaribe va Meh (Stranger and the Fog) (1974), Cherike-ye Tara (Ballad of Tara) (1980), Bashu, the Little Stranger
(1986, released in 1989), Shāyad Vaghti digar (Maybe another time) (1988) and Mosaferan (Travellers) (1992). He has also written the screenplay to Ruz-e Vaqe'e (The Fateful Day) in 1995 and Fasl-e Panjom (The fifth season) in 1996, whilst also editing Borj-e Minu (Minoo Tower).
and “crisis of identity” which is related to Iranian cultural and mythical symbols and paradigms.
and theatre and is regarded as an influential director and innovator of the Iranian New Wave movement of cinema. He is also considered Iran’s most prominent screenwriter in terms of dramatic integrity of his works, many of which have been made into films.
However, despite the value of his films and his substantial knowledge of the arts, like other Iranian film directors such as Abbas Kiarostami
, the Government of Iran has never supported his career, neither before nor after the 1979 Iranian Revolution
. Even after some 20 years, his films such as Ballad of Tara (1980) and Death of Yazdgerd (1981) have never received a screening permit in Iran. Both films have been shelved because they are not in accordance with the Islamic code currently in operation in Iranian motion pictures. Even Bashu, the Little Stranger
almost saw the same fate in 1986 due to the subject matter of the film, i.e. the story of a little orphaned boy who lost his parents in the Iran-Iraqi war. The film was only legalized after the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and was released in 1989.
, is a theater director and playwright. He has one son.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, theatre director, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, film editor, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and researcher
Researcher
A researcher is somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systematic investigation to establish facts. Researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.-Examples of research institutions:...
.
Bahram Beyzai is the son of the poet Ostād Ne'mat'ollāh Beyzāi (best known by his literary pseudonym Zokā'i Beyzāi - ذکائی بیضائی). The celebrated poet Adib Ali Beyzāi, considered as one of the most profound poets of the twentieth-century Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, is Bahram Beyzai's paternal uncle. Bahram Beyzai's paternal grandfather, Mirzā Mohammad-Rezā Ārāni (Ebn Ruh - ابن روح), and paternal great-grandfather, the mulla Mohammad-Faqih Ārāni (Ruh'ol-Amin - روح الامین), were also renown poets.
Beyzai is part of a generation of filmmakers in the Iranian New Wave, a Persian cinema movement that started in the late 1960s and includes other pioneering directors such as Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
, Forough Farrokhzad
Forough Farrokhzad
Forugh Farrokhzād was an Iranian poet and film director. Forugh Farrokhzad is arguably one of Iran's most influential female poets of the twentieth century...
, Sohrab Shahid Sales, and Parviz Kimiavi
Parviz Kimiavi
Parviz Kimiavi is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, editor and one of the most prominent figures of Persian cinema of the 20th century....
. The filmmakers share many common techniques including the use of poetic dialog, references to traditional Persian art and culture and allegorical story-telling often dealing with political and philosophical issues.
Early career
Cinema of Iran
The cinema of Iran is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are annually made in Iran, and Iranian art films win praise around the world....
and the visual arts. At the age of 21 he did substantial research on the traditional Persian plays, Book of Kings (Shahname) and Ta'zieh
Ta'zieh
Ta'zieh means Condolence Theater and Naqqali are traditional Persian theatrical genres in which the drama is conveyed wholly or predominantly through music and singing...
and by 1961 he had already spent a great deal of time studying and researching other ancient Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
and pre-Islamic culture and literature. This in turn led him to studying Eastern theatre and traditional Iranian theatre and arts which would help him formulate a new non-western identity for Iranian theatre. He also became acquainted with Persian painting.
By late 1961 he had already published numerous articles in various arts and literary journals. In 1962 he made his first short film (4 minutes) in 8 mm format. In the next two years he wrote several plays and published "Theatre in Japan".
In the next eight or so years of his life throughout the early to late 1960s, Bayzai dedicated to writing in various publications about Eastern art and Persian literature enabled through his extensive study and also wrote a number of essays about Iranian cinema which later became the subject of one of his books. It is during this period that he wrote popular books which are often regarded as masterpieces; The Eight Voyage of Sinbad, Banquet, Serpant King, Dolls, The Story of the Hidden Moon and many more.
In 1968, Beyzai became one of the first people to join the Iranian Writer's Guild, a highly controversial organization in Iran in the face of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, known as the Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran.
Theatrical career and playwriting
Beyzai's early study and interest in dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
and the theatre is well known, but less well-known is his early work as a dramatist. As a young man Beyzai had always been fascinated by the traditions of Iranian theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and this included the puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
theatre. His "Se Nemayeshname-ye 'Arusaki" ("Three Puppet Plays") was published in 1963, and "The Marionettes" was the first one of these three plays. But for all that it is unmistakably based on the model of the traditional puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
theatre, "The Marionettes" is shaped by other traditions, too. It is the work of someone au fait with the work of Pirandello and the Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
. In the 1960s, plays by dramatists such as Beckett
Beckett
- People :* Arthur William à Beckett , English journalist and man of letters* Barry Beckett , American musician* Billy Beckett , English footballer...
and Ionesco were often translated into the Persian language
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and performed in Iran soon after their premieres in the West). Drawing on these varied influences, Beyzai's play is a little-known master-piece of twentieth-century drama.
Beyzaie's "Drama in Iran" (Namayesh dar Iran), published in late 1960s is still considered the most important text on the history of Iranian theater. Beyzaie is also the first scholar in Iran to publish books on theater in China and Japan.
Some of his plays such as his masterpiece "Marg-e Yazdgerd" ("Death of Yazdgerd") have been made into films.
Theatres
Beyzaie has over 50 published plays, some of which are:- "Gorob dar Diari Garib" (Sunset in a Strange Land)
- "Chahar Sandoogh" (Four Chests)
- "Hashtomin Safar e Sandbad" ( The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad)
- Ziāfat va Mirās (1967 - aka Heritage and The Feast)
- Soltān-Mār (1969 - aka The King Snake)
- Marg-e Yazdgerd (1979 - aka Death of Yazdgerd)
- Kārnāme-ye Bandār Bidakhsh (1997 and 1998)
- Bānū Aoi (1997 and 1998) (based on The Lady AoiAoi no Ueis a fictional character in The Tale of Genji . Daughter of the Minister of the Left and Genji’s first principal wife, she marries Genji when she is sixteen and he only twelve. Proud and distant to her husband, Aoi is constantly aware of the age difference between them and very much hurt by...
by Yukio MishimaYukio Mishimawas the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
) - Shab-e Hezār-o-yekom (2003)
- Afrā yā Rooz migozarad (2007 - aka Afra, or the day passes)
نمایشنامه‌ها [ویرایش]مترسک‌ها در شب-۱۳۴۱
سه نمایشنامهٔ عروسکی:
عروسک‌ها-۱۳۴۱
غروب در دیاری غریب-۱۳۴۱
قصهٔ ماه پنهان-۱۳۴۲
پهلوان اکبر می‌میرد-۱۳۴۲
هشتمین سفر سندباد-۱۳۴۳
دنیای مطبوعاتی آقای اسراری-۱۳۴۵
سلطان‌مار-۱۳۴۵
میراث و ضیافت-۱۳۴۶
چهار صندوق-۱۳۴۶
ساحل نجات-۱۳۴۷
در حضور باد-۱۳۴۷
دیوان بلخ-۱۳۴۷
گمشدگان-۱۳۴۸
راه طوفانی فرمان پسر فرمان از میان تاریکی-۱۳۴۹
ندبه-۱۳۵۶
نوشته‌های دیواری-۱۳۵۷
مرگ یزدگرد-۱۳۵۸
خاطرات هنرپیشهٔ نقش دوم-۱۳۶۰
فتح‌نامه کلات-۱۳۶۱
پرده‌خانه-۱۳۶۴
جنگ‌نامه غلامان-۱۳۶۷
طرب‌نامه-۱۳۷۳
سهراب‌کشی-۱۳۷۳
مجلس بساط برچیدن-۱۳۷۶
افرا یا روز می‌گذرد-۱۳۷۶
مجلس قربانی سنمار-۱۳۷۷
گزارش ارداویراف-۱۳۷۸
مجلس ضربت زدن-۱۳۷۹
شب هزار و یکم-۱۳۸۲
دیوان نمایش (جلد یک و دو)-۱۳۸۲
مجلس شبیه در ذکر مصائب استاد نوید ماکان و همسرش مهندس رخشید فرزین-۱۳۸۳
تاراج نامه -[۴]۱۳۹۰
فیلم‌نامه‌ها [ویرایش]
Cinematic career
In 1969 he began his film career by directing the short film Amu Sibilou (Uncle Moustache) followed by "Safar" in 1970.Immediately after, in 1971, he made his first feature film "Ragbar" ("Downpour") which is regarded by critics to this day as one of the most successful Iranian films ever made. The successful film addresses the late Parviz Fannizadeh as its central character and protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
.
Since then he has produced and directed 8 films including Qaribe va Meh (Stranger and the Fog) (1974), Cherike-ye Tara (Ballad of Tara) (1980), Bashu, the Little Stranger
Bashu, the Little Stranger
Bashu, the Little Stranger , is a 1986 Iranian drama film directed by Bahram Beizai. The film was produced in 1986, and was released in 1989. This multi-ethnic film was the first Iranian film to make use of the northern dialect of Persian, Gilaki, in a serious context rather than comic relief...
(1986, released in 1989), Shāyad Vaghti digar (Maybe another time) (1988) and Mosaferan (Travellers) (1992). He has also written the screenplay to Ruz-e Vaqe'e (The Fateful Day) in 1995 and Fasl-e Panjom (The fifth season) in 1996, whilst also editing Borj-e Minu (Minoo Tower).
Cinematic style
He is known as the most intellectual and conspicuous “author” in Iranian cinema. The main theme of his works is the historyHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and “crisis of identity” which is related to Iranian cultural and mythical symbols and paradigms.
Reception and criticism
Beyzai has made significant contribution to the development of the Cinema of IranCinema of Iran
The cinema of Iran is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are annually made in Iran, and Iranian art films win praise around the world....
and theatre and is regarded as an influential director and innovator of the Iranian New Wave movement of cinema. He is also considered Iran’s most prominent screenwriter in terms of dramatic integrity of his works, many of which have been made into films.
However, despite the value of his films and his substantial knowledge of the arts, like other Iranian film directors such as Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
, the Government of Iran has never supported his career, neither before nor after the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
. Even after some 20 years, his films such as Ballad of Tara (1980) and Death of Yazdgerd (1981) have never received a screening permit in Iran. Both films have been shelved because they are not in accordance with the Islamic code currently in operation in Iranian motion pictures. Even Bashu, the Little Stranger
Bashu, the Little Stranger
Bashu, the Little Stranger , is a 1986 Iranian drama film directed by Bahram Beizai. The film was produced in 1986, and was released in 1989. This multi-ethnic film was the first Iranian film to make use of the northern dialect of Persian, Gilaki, in a serious context rather than comic relief...
almost saw the same fate in 1986 due to the subject matter of the film, i.e. the story of a little orphaned boy who lost his parents in the Iran-Iraqi war. The film was only legalized after the end of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War and was released in 1989.
Filmography (as a director)
- Amū Sibilū (1969 - short)
- Safar (1970 - short - aka The Journey)
- Ragbār (1971 - aka Downpour)
- Qaribé va Meh (1974 - aka The Stranger and the Fog)
- Kalāq (1976 - aka The Crow or The Raven )
- Charike-ye TārāBallad of TaraBallad of Tara is a 1979 Persian film directed by Bahram Bayzai. It competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Susan Taslimi - Tara* Manuchehr Farid - Historical man* Reza Babak - Ghalich...
(1979 - aka Ballad of Tara) - Marg-e Yazdgerd (1982 - aka Death of Yazdgerd)
- Bashu, the Little StrangerBashu, the Little StrangerBashu, the Little Stranger , is a 1986 Iranian drama film directed by Bahram Beizai. The film was produced in 1986, and was released in 1989. This multi-ethnic film was the first Iranian film to make use of the northern dialect of Persian, Gilaki, in a serious context rather than comic relief...
(1986 - aka Bashu - released 1989) - Shāyad Vaghti digar (1988 - aka Maybe Some Other Time)
- Mosāferan (1992 - aka Travellers)
- Goft-o-gū bā Bād (1998 - short - aka Talking with the Wind)
- Sagkoshi (2001 - aka Killing Mad Dogs)
- Qāli-ye Sokhangū (2006)
- Vaqti hame khābim (When we are all sleeping) (2009)
Personal life
He is the husband of actress and make-up artist Mozhdeh Shamsai. His daughter, Niloofar BeyzaieNiloofar Beyzaie
-Work:Central themes of her theater work are "woman", "the suffering of individuals among the crowd" and "being a stranger either in the own or in the foreign society"...
, is a theater director and playwright. He has one son.
External links
- Official website
- Bahram Bayzai's biography on Iran Chamber Society (www.iranchamber.com)
- Speaking with Bahram Bayzai; [Afrā], Day Passes By, in Persian, BBC Persian, Sunday 6 January 2008, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/arts/story/2008/01/080105_la-ek-beizaee.shtml.
- A short talk with Bahram Bayzai, the celebrated director of film and theatre, in Persian, Deutsche Welle, Wednesday 26 December 2007: (Main page), http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_single_mediaplayer/0,,3023091_type_audio_struct_10005,00.html?mytitle=%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B4%25D9%2586%25D9%2588%25DB%258C%25D8%25AF%253A%2B%25DA%25AF%25D9%2581%25D8%25AA%25E2%2580%258C%25D9%2588%25DA%25AF%25D9%2588%2B%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A7%2B%25D8%25A8%25D9%2587%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D9%2585%2B%25D8%25A8%25DB%258C%25D8%25B6%25D8%25A7%25DB%258C%25DB%258C(Audio recording of interview — 4 min 9 sec)].
- Najmeh Khalili Mahani, Bahram Baizai, Iranian Cinema, Feminism, Art Cinema, Off Screen, January 31, 2003, http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/baizai.html.