Beyzai, a towering figure in Iranian cinema and theater, was born on December 26, 1938, in Tehran. He died in the US, where he had been residing in recent years.
The Stanford University program in Iranian Studies has confirmed the news.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in modern Iranian art, Beyzai was a filmmaker, playwright, screenwriter, and scholar whose work shaped generations of Iranian cinema and theater.
Among his most acclaimed feature films are Ballad of Tara, The Death of Yazdgerd, Bashu, the Little Stranger, Maybe Some Other Time, The Travelers, and Killing Mad Dogs.
Over the course of his prolific career, Beyzai wrote more than 30 plays and staged eight major theater productions.
His body of work also includes 51 screenplays, five narrative works, and six academic research publications.