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Widespread homages have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"His passing is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," said the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the present administration have also acknowledged his contribution to Persian arts.

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 "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his work over many decades sets archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian structures of power.

Roots in Tradition

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

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

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as his magnum opus, 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 subsequent works he made in that period—but later chosen by critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a restored version at this year's Venice Film Festival, winning an award for best film in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

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 homeland.