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Profound tributes are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away aged 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of publications in Iran lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"This loss is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," said Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the current government have also acknowledged his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Many of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director 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 playwright and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

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

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

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

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and distance, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his convictions," 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 devastating conflict.

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

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Film Festival, 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 Persian studies.

Although he left his homeland, 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.