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Profound tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

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

He first rose to prominence as a theater writer, 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 Persian film.

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"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 beliefs," stated 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 take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—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, receiving an award for best film in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

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.