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Widespread tributes are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died at the age of 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

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

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

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

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

Beyzai steered clear of overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in opposition with authoritarian 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 theater writer, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime constantly poised to sniff out hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of marginalization, enforced quiet, 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 1979 Revolution, he produced what many regard as 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 film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for best film in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

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