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Widespread tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

The headlines of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"His passing is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," remarked the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the present administration have also acknowledged his legacy to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop 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 avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his work over countless years places archetypal characters in opposition with oppressive structures of power.

Roots in Tradition

From a family of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

He first found fame as a playwright, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies.

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to detect subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," 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 other films he made in that time—but later voted 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 lectured on Iranian culture.

Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his homeland.