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Profound tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away aged 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 Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the art and culture of our country," remarked the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

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

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the contemporary generation of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai steered clear of overtly political content in his work, both as a playwright and a cinematic auteur, and always said he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over countless years places archetypal characters in opposition with authoritarian structures of power.

A Cultural Foundation

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

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

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

He gained acclaim as one of the key figures in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime ever ready to detect subtext that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of marginalization, imposed silence, 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 consider his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a young child who tries to find shelter from the devastating conflict.

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 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.

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 homeland.