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

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"This loss is an immense tragedy for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of prominent officials in the present administration have also acknowledged his legacy to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in conflict with authoritarian structures of power.

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

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

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

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with both systems ever ready to detect hidden messages that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his convictions," stated the filmmaker 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 small boy who tries to take refuge from the devastating conflict.

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 Film Festival, receiving 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 Persian studies.

Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a new culture and tomorrow for his homeland.