North American Premiere of 4K restoration!
An orphan of war, Bashu stumbles upon a mother struggling to raise two children while her husband searches for work elsewhere in Iran. The community shuns him, but Bashu is slowly accepted into the family in this restored Iranian classic.
A poignant and quietly radical film about displacement, grief, and human connection. Bahram Beyzaie’s Bashu, the Little Stranger follows a young Afro-Iranian boy who flees the devastation of war after losing his family. Bashu finds himself far from home in a lush but unfamiliar part of Iran and encounters Naii, a fiercely independent woman raising two children while her husband searches for work elsewhere. Mute at first and suffering from severe PTSD, Bashu struggles to communicate in a region where even the dialect is foreign to him.
Beyzaie’s film dwells in the everyday, building intimacy as Naii cautiously takes Bashu in. Despite facing colourism and xenophobia from their rural community — where Bashu is repeatedly compared to coal — Naii becomes his fiercest defender. As time passes, Bashu begins to speak, form friendships with the local kids, and eventually reciprocates Naii’s care, helping with the farm and protecting the household, forging a chosen family bound not by blood but resilience.
Beyzaie, known for his poetic and theatrical visual style, is a central figure in the Iranian New Wave. His other acclaimed works include Downpour (1972) and The Stranger and the Fog (1974), each exploring otherness, memory, and myth through a distinctly humanist lens. Completed in 1986 but delayed for release until 1989 due to political sensitivities, Bashu, the Little Stranger has since earned recognition as one of Iranian cinema’s greatest films and the 4K restoration speaks to Beyzaie’s enduring influence.
ROBYN CITIZEN
Restoration in 4K at Roashana Studios with the support of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (KANOON). Presented by mk2 Films.
Screenings
TIFF Lightbox 4