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Profound tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," remarked the exiled prince, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a host of senior figures in the present administration have also paid tribute his legacy to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed 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 overt messages.

But his oeuvre over many decades sets archetypal characters in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

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 theater writer, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

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

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He endured years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned 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 consider his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy 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 voted by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for best film in the heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

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

Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a new culture and tomorrow for his native land.