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

Homeland in Mourning

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

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

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials 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 showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

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

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

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of renowned poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

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

A devotee of cinema, he moved into making films in the 1970s.

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

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to detect subtext that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 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 censored in Iran—as were other films he made in that period—but later voted by critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

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

Final Years in Exile

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

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and future for his homeland.