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Widespread homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The headlines of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

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

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

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his oeuvre over many decades places historical, even mythic figures in opposition with oppressive structures of power.

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage of Iranian artistry from birth.

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

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

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

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his convictions," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many regard as his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to take refuge from the devastating conflict.

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

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Film Festival, winning an award for outstanding feature 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 Iranian culture.

Even after he left his homeland, 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 homeland.