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Widespread homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of prominent officials in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai steered clear of overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to deal in overt messages.

But his work over many decades sets archetypal characters in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the deepest traditions of Iranian artistry from birth.

He first found fame as a playwright, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

A devotee of cinema, he transitioned to making films in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He endured years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy who tries to find shelter from the devastating conflict.

It was banned in Iran—as were other films he made in that period—but later chosen by critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for best film in the heritage category.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on Iranian culture.

Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a new culture and future for his native land.