Travel Companions: Bahram Beyzaie & Amir Naderi

Already renowned as a playwright and scholar of Persian literature, history, and mythology, Bahram Beyzaie, who died far from his native Tehran in California this past December, added “filmmaker” to his resumé in 1970 with his short Uncle Mustache, and would quickly establish himself as one of the most popular and influential of Iranian filmmakers, a catalyst for the New Wave of the ’70s. Inspired by the newly available restorations of two of Beyzaie’s most formidable achievements, the compact masterwork Journey and Bashu, the Little Stranger, in 1999 voted the “Best Iranian Film of All Time” by Picture World magazine, we’ll be spotlighting the film work of the “Shakespeare of Persia,” accompanied by a selection of features by his friend and occasional collaborator Amir Naderi, whose exquisite 1985 The Runner was edited by Beyzaie.