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Widespread homages have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who has died aged 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

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

"His passing is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of senior figures in the present administration have also acknowledged his contribution to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the current crop of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "how to stand up to oblivion."

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

But his work over many decades places historical, even mythic figures in opposition with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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

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

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

He won renown as one of the key figures in the new wave of Persian film.

An Enduring Voice

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and distance, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," said the filmmaker in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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 subsequent works he made in that time—but later chosen by film critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Film Festival, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the heritage category.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he lectured on Persian studies.

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and tomorrow for his native land.