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Widespread tributes are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died aged 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his legacy to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi said 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 countless years places archetypal characters in opposition with oppressive 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 rose to prominence as a theater writer, inspired by Persian legend and ritual.

A lifelong fan of cinema, he moved into filmmaking in the 1970s.

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems ever ready to detect subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He withstood years of marginalization, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," stated 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 find shelter from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned 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 shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

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

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a new culture and future for his homeland.