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Widespread tributes have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

Homeland in Mourning

The headlines of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the current government have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director 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 cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to trade in overt messages.

But his work over many decades sets archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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

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

A devotee of cinema, he moved into filmmaking in the 1970s.

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

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period spanned the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his convictions," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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

It was banned in Iran—as were other films 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 best film in the heritage category.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on Persian studies.

Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a new culture and future for his homeland.