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Widespread homages have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who passed away at the age of 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"His passing is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

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

But his work over countless years places historical, even mythic figures in conflict with oppressive structures of power.

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage 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 making films in the 1970s.

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

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime ever ready to detect subtext that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

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 subsequent works he made in that period—but later voted by film critics as the best 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 lectured on Iranian culture.

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 native land.