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Widespread homages are pouring in for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away at the age of 87 while residing in the United States.

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of publications in Iran lament his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

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

Even though Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude 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 dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to deal in overt messages.

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

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage of renowned poets, Beyzai was imbued in the deepest traditions of Persian culture from birth.

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

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime constantly poised to detect subtext that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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 greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

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

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his native land.