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Profound homages have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away 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 pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

"This loss is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to deal in overt messages.

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

A Cultural Foundation

From a family of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the deepest traditions 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 won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his convictions," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

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

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

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the heritage category.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Iranian culture.

Even after 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 remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his native land.