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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 front pages of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with dissenting figures and those who reflect nostalgically on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"His passing is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," said Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt 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 dramatist and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

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

He first rose to prominence as a theater writer, inspired by ancient myths and ceremonies.

A devotee of cinema, he transitioned to making films 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 overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to detect subtext that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and distance, but he did not give up his language and his convictions," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the 1979 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 banned in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that period—but later voted by film critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

Although he left his homeland, 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 tomorrow for his native land.