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Widespread tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The headlines of publications in Iran lament his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the present administration have also paid tribute 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 avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over countless years places historical, even mythic figures in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

From a family of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Iranian artistry from birth.

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

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his convictions," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to find shelter from the devastating conflict.

It was banned in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—but later chosen by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Film Festival, winning an award for best film in the heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

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

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh 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 native land.