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Widespread homages have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"This loss is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," said the exiled prince, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his contribution to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to trade in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over many decades places archetypal characters in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

From a family of renowned poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage of Iranian artistry from birth.

He first found fame as a playwright, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

A lifelong fan of cinema, he transitioned to filmmaking in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to detect subtext that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He withstood years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his convictions," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to find shelter from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was censored in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—but later chosen by film critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Iranian culture.

Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a new culture and future for his homeland.