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

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of publications in Iran lament his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of senior figures in the present administration have also paid tribute his legacy to Persian arts.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi noted that Beyzai taught them "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a film director, and always maintained he tried not to trade in explicit commentary.

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

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage 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 devotee of cinema, he transitioned to making films in the 1970s.

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most productive period straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems constantly poised to sniff out subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of marginalization, enforced quiet, and distance, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs," said Jaafar Panahi 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 take refuge 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 shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, receiving 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.

Even after he left his homeland, his wife, the actress 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 homeland.