Bahram Beyzaie

Bahram Beyzaie is a well-known Iranian critic, researcher, teacher, playwright, stage director (and producer), screenwriter and filmmaker (director, producer and editor). He was first introduced to western audiences at the age of 25, when his play was staged at the Festival du Theater des Nations in Paris, 1963. After years of uncompromising creative work, he became Professor and Chair of the Dramatic Arts Department at Tehran University until the Islamic revolution. Presently he is a visiting professor at Stanford University, Iranian Studies Program, lecturing on topics such as Iranian Cinema, Iranian Theater and Cinema and Mythology. Beyzaie's literary heritage, from his parents, is reflected not only in his prose writings, his plays and films but also in his own personal style and critical outlook. Besides his monograms in volumes on Iranian, Japanese and Chinese theaters and also a book on Hitchcock films, he has done extensive research on the roots of One Thousand and One Nights resulting in two monograms, Seeking the Roots of the Old Tree followed by another about the missing ancient book of Hezar Afsan [One Thousand and One Nights as it is called in its Arabic translation]. In the past five decades, Beyzaie has published more than 35 plays, some of which are translated and published in English, French, German and Portuguese and also more than 50 screenplays. Despite many obstacles imposed on his life and career he has directed seven of his plays on the stage himself and in his own personal style in Tehran. Amongst these the film version of Death of Yazdgerd is available as an example of his artistic expression and historical and cultural view. Furthermore he has made ten feature and four short films which are: Short films: Mustachioed Uncle; The Journey; Talking with the Wind; The Speaking Carpet. Feature films: Downpour; The Stranger and the Fog; The Crow; The Ballad of Tara; Death of Yazdgerd; Bashu, The Little Stranger; Maybe Some Other Time; The Travelers; Killing Rabids; While We Are All Asleep.
His theatre works are, all except for one, directed by himself and include: The Puppets, the Heritage and The Feast, King Snake, Death of Yazdgerd, Lady Aoi ( by Mishima Yukio), Testament of Bondar Bidakhsh, The 1001st Night, The Passion Play of Mentor Navid Makan and His Wife Archeologist Rokhshid Farzin, and Afra or the Day Passes. In The last four years he has directed a shadow play called Jana&Baladoor and also Arash, 1001st Night and Ardaviraf's Report, all presented by the Iranian Studies of Stanford University.