TEHRAN – The 1989 Iranian drama “Bashu, the Little Stranger” directed by renowned Iranian filmmaker Bahram Beyzai will be screened at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival.

The line-up has been finalized for the Venice Classics section of this year’s edition of the festival, with Beyzai’s film among the 18 classic films from across the globe, Mehr reported.

“Bashu, the Little Stranger” as an anti-war masterpiece, has a simple story. It depicts the story of Bashu, a southern Iranian boy who, after losing his family during the Iran-Iraq war, runs away in search of refuge and is taken in by Naii, a woman living with her two young children in a village in the northern part of the country.

Despite their linguistic, ethnic, and racial differences, neighbors’ gossip, and the economic challenge of feeding a new family member, Naii accepts Bashu and prepares to convince her disabled husband when he arrives home from a work-related trip.

The touching, acclaimed drama, however, carries subtle undertones about human emotions like love, acceptance, loneliness, and unfamiliarity.

In 1999, “Bashu, the Little Stranger” was voted the best Iranian movie of all time by a poll of 150 movie experts.

Last year, Beyzai was invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to join the membership ranks of the Oscar organizer, 

A director and screenwriter, Beyzai, 86, is part of a generation of filmmakers in the Iranian New Wave, a Persian cinema movement that started in the late 1960s. The filmmakers share many common techniques, including the use of poetic dialogue, references to traditional Persian art and culture, and allegorical storytelling often dealing with political and philosophical issues.

Already known for his groundbreaking work as a theater director, Beyzai helped catalyze a new era of Iranian cinema.

His debut feature, “Downpour,” made in 1972, is regarded as one of the most successful Iranian films ever made.

His other films include “Stranger and the Fog” (1974), “Crow” (1976), “Ballad of Tara” (1979), “Bashu, the Little Stranger” (1986), “Maybe Another Time” (1988), “Travelers” (1992), “Killing Mad Dogs” (2001), and “When We are All Asleep” (2009).

Beyzai’s stories, plays, and screenplays, as well as his studies in various fields, have been published in over 70 books. Some of his plays have been translated into several languages and shown in many countries.

Venice Classics is the section that, since 2012, has presented at the Venice Film Festival a selection of the best restorations of classic film.

Some other notable films in the Venice Classics section include “Matador” by Pedro Almodóvar (1986), “Blind Chance” by Krzysztof Kieślowski (1981), “Kwaidan” by Masaki Kobayashi (1965), and “House of Strangers” by Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1949).

The 82nd Venice International Film Festival is organized by La Biennale di Venezia and directed by Alberto Barbera. It will run on the Lido di Venezia from August 27 to September 6. The festival is officially recognized by the FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Association).

The aim of the festival is to raise awareness and promote international cinema in all its forms as art, entertainment, and as an industry, in a spirit of freedom and dialogue. One section is devoted to enhancing the restoration works on classic films as a contribution towards a better understanding of the history of cinema.

Photo: A scene from “Bashu, the Little Stranger”

SS/SAB