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Profound tributes have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"This loss 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.

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a host of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught 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 overt messages.

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

A Cultural Foundation

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

He first rose to prominence as a playwright, inspired by 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 groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to detect subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He endured years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy 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 voted by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

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

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed 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 the sound of the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.