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Profound tributes 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 lament 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 cultural heritage of our country," said Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the present administration 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. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "how to stand up to oblivion."

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

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

Roots in Tradition

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

He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies.

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period 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 never opted for the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, 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 other films he made in that time—but later voted by critics as the greatest 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 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 went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and future for his homeland.