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Widespread tributes have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of Iranian newspapers mourn his loss, with dissenting figures and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

"This loss 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.

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always said he tried not to trade in overt messages.

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

A Cultural Foundation

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

He first found fame as a theater writer, inspired by ancient myths and ceremonies.

A devotee of cinema, he transitioned to filmmaking in the 1970s.

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with each regime constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many consider 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 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 heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he taught Iranian culture.

Although 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.