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Widespread homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died at the age of 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

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

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

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the present administration have also acknowledged his legacy to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers 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 playwright and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to deal in overt messages.

But his work over many decades places archetypal characters in conflict with authoritarian structures of power.

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

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

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

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his convictions," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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 Iran-Iraq war.

It was censored in Iran—as were other films 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 newly remastered print at this year's Venice Film Festival, winning an award for best film in the heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on 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 new culture and future for his homeland.