VENICE (Dispatches) -- In a triumphant return to the global spotlight, Bahram Beyzaie’s seminal 1986 feature Bashu, the Little Stranger (Bashu, Gharibeh-ye Koochak) was awarded Best Restored Film in the Venice Classics section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, a crowning moment for one of Iran’s most revered auteurs and a reminder of the enduring power of poetic cinema.
The film, restored by Studio Roshanā in collaboration with the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon) and presented internationally by France’s MK2 Films, received a standing ovation during its festival screening, marking a pivotal revival of a lost classic for new audiences.
First released in 1986, Bashu was hailed as a landmark of Iranian cinema—both for its emotional complexity and bold sociopolitical undertones. The film tells the story of a war-displaced Arab-speaking boy from Iran’s southern warzones who finds refuge with a woman and her children in the country’s lush northern regions. What unfolds is a quietly radical meditation on identity, language, trauma, and the idea of home.
At a time when Iranian cinema is often pigeonholed by global festivals into certain minimalist aesthetics, Beyzaie’s lyrical yet grounded style—marked by mythic undertones and philosophical density—stands apart. With its poetic dialogues, folkloric elements, and rich environmental textures, Bashu remains one of the most layered and politically daring films to come out of the region.
The restoration of Bashu is more than technical—it is cultural reclamation. The negative had suffered from years of neglect, with significant portions requiring painstaking digital reconstruction. Studio Roshanā’s work was supported by archival contributions and high-resolution scanning processes, supervised by Beyzaie’s long-time collaborators and approved by the filmmaker himself.
In a press statement, MK2 Films lauded the project as “a vital act of cinematic preservation,” while Studio Roshanā noted that “restoring Bashu meant restoring a piece of Iran’s cultural conscience.”
This year’s Venice Classics section included 18 restored masterworks from across the globe, including films by Alain Resnais, Ritwik Ghatak, and Agnès Varda. Yet it was Bashu that resonated most deeply, tapping into urgent global conversations around displacement, resilience, and belonging.
Venice’s jury, chaired by archivist and curator Beatrice Fiorentino, praised the film’s “timeless humanism and formal elegance,” calling it “an artistic achievement that speaks across generations.”
Additional Venice 2025 Highlights:
Golden Lion: Father Mother Sister Brother, Jim Jarmusch
Grand Jury Prize: The Voice of Hind Rajab, Kaouther Ben Hania
Best Director: Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine
Volpi Cup (Best Actor): Toni Servillo, La Grazia
Volpi Cup (Best Actress): Xin Zhilei, The Sun Rises on Us All
Best Documentary (Classics): Mata Hari, Joe Beshenkovsky
Audience Award: Calle Málaga, Maryam Touzani