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Widespread homages are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"This loss is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, 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 present administration have also paid tribute his legacy to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught 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 maintained he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over countless years places historical, even mythic figures in opposition with oppressive religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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

He first rose to prominence as a playwright, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with both systems constantly poised 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 did not give up his language and his convictions," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to find shelter from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was censored in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—but later voted by critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a restored version 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 lectured on Iranian culture.

Although 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 new culture and tomorrow for his native land.