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Widespread homages are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away at the age of 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn 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 art and culture of our country," said Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a host of prominent officials in the present administration have also acknowledged his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai steered clear of overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his oeuvre over countless years places archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage of celebrated poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

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

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

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

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He endured years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and distance, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his convictions," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many regard as his magnum opus, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was censored in Iran—as were other films he made in that period—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 Film Festival, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the heritage category.

A Hopeful 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 Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.