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

Homeland in Mourning

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

"This loss is a great loss for the cultural heritage 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 theocratic government, a number of prominent officials in the current government have also acknowledged his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted 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 maintained he tried not to trade in overt messages.

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

Roots in Tradition

From a family of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

He first rose to prominence as a playwright, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

A devotee of cinema, he moved into making films in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He withstood years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and distance, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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

It was censored in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that period—but later chosen by film critics as the best 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 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 hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and future for his homeland.