Born
in Tehran in 1938. A survivor from the vanguard of the
Iranian cinema in the 60's, he is well recognized as
a self-made artist active in literature, theatre and
cinema. He was introduced to the world of art when he
was still very young. In high school he wrote two historical
plays which eventually became his preferred method of
writing. He gained his first filmmaking experiences
through making 8 mm. movies. He then entered the University
of Tehran, but did not finish his studies due to lack
of interest in the subject he was studying. It was then
that he started researching Iranian theatre and epic
literature. At the age of 21 he did an extensive research
on the "Book of Kings" (Shahname) and Ta'azie
which is Iranian traditional plays. He also studied
the pre-Islamic history and familiarized himself with
Persian painting. The next ten years of his life were
dedicated to writing in various publications about Eastern
Art and Iranian theatre. He also wrote a good number
of articles about cinema, which later became the subject
of one of his books. It is during this time that Bayzai
wrote some of his masterpieces: "The Eight Voyage
of Sinbad", "Banquet", "Serpent
King", "Dolls", "Story of the Hidden
Moon" and many more. Three of his puppet plays
were staged in Tehran in 1962, followed by the much-lauded
play "Champion Akbar Dies" which was one of
the best theatre pieces ever written in Iran. In 1968
he was one of the first ones to join the controversial
Iranian Writer's Guild (Kanun-e Nevisandegan-e Iran).
Bayzai started his film career with a successful short
fiction film named "Amoo Sibiloo / Uncle Mustache"
in 1970. Immediately after that he directed and produced
his masterpiece "Ragbar / Downpour" (1971),
based on his own screenplay, with the late Parviz Fannizadeh
starring. This and his following films, "Gharibe
va Meh / The Stranger and the Fog" (1973), which
was based on a totally unprecedented script in the tradition
of Iranian cinema, and "Kalaagh / The Crow"
(1977), earned him festival prizes at home and abroad.
Bayzai has made significant contribution to the development
of cinema and theatre in Iran. Despite his popularity
and knowledge, he has never been successful in gaining
the support of the government, neither before nor after
the revolution. After more than 20 years, his first
two post-revolutionary films, "Cherikeye Tara /
The Ballad of Tara" or "Tara, a Female Guerilla"
(1978, unreleased) and "Marge Yazdgerd / The Death
of Yazdgerd" (1980, unreleased), have still not
been able to receive a screening permit. Both movies
have been shelved due to the fact that they are not
in accordance with the Islamic code currently in use
in Iranian motion picture industry. "Bashu, Gharibeh
Kouchak / Bashu, the Little Stranger" (1986, released
in 1989), was going to be his third film to be shelved,
but it finally got a permit after the end of Iran-Iraq
war. He made "Shayad Vaghdi Digar / Maybe Some
Other Time" in 1988. His next film "Mosaferan
/ Travelers" (1992) was practically destroyed after
censors cut about 30 minutes out of it. Following that
act, Bayzai has not made a movie for many years. During
this period he wrote screenplays for "Ruz-e vagh'e
/ Day of the Incident" directed by Shahram Assadi
and "Fasle Panjom / Fifth Season" (1996) directed
by Rafi Pitts, and edited "Borje Minoo / Minoo
Tower" (1996), a film by Ebrahim Hatami. Bayzai
broke his silence after seven years with a group work
called "Goftegoo Ba Baad / Stories of Kish"
which consists of seven episodes. The last feature film
he directed is "Sagkoshi / Killing Mad Dogs"
(2001).
Of all the Iranian directors, Bahram Bayzai
is probably the most accessible to Western viewers.
A master of narrative storytelling -he is considered
one of Iran's best screenwriters- Bayzai is particularly
sensitive in portraying the problems of women. His troubles
with the authorities have been enormous. Bayzai established
himself on the festival scene in early 1970's with "The
Downfall", "Stranger and the Fog" and
"The Crow". His first two films made after
the revolution were too controversial to be released
in Iran. "The Ballad of Tara" (1978), screened
at Cannes, looks at the place of women in Iranian history.
"The Death of Yazdgerd" (1980), from his own
play about a vanquished king, simply puzzled the censors.
|