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Widespread tributes are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

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

"This loss is an immense tragedy for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai steered clear of direct political references in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in opposition with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

From a family of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Iranian artistry from birth.

He first rose to prominence as a theater writer, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies.

A lifelong fan 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 fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime constantly poised to detect subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his language and his convictions," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran—as were other films 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 Biennale, receiving an award for best film in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

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

Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a new culture and future for his homeland.