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

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of publications in Iran lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his contribution to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided 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 work over countless years sets archetypal characters in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

A Cultural Foundation

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

He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

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

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

An Enduring Voice

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his language and his convictions," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy who tries to find shelter from the devastating conflict.

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

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

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

Even after 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 renewed spirit and future for his native land.