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Widespread tributes are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of prominent officials in the current government have also paid tribute his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed 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 deal 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 richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

He first rose to prominence 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 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 overthrew him—with each regime constantly poised to detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He endured years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he never abandoned his language and his convictions," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many consider his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

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

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

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his native land.