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Profound homages have been shared for 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 mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a number of prominent officials in the current government have also paid tribute his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the contemporary generation of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt to him. 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 film director, and always maintained he tried not to deal in overt messages.

But his oeuvre over many decades sets archetypal characters in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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

He first found fame as a playwright, drawing on ancient myths and ceremonies.

A lifelong fan of cinema, he moved into 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 fruitful era spanned the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be interpreted as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the path of least resistance. He withstood years of exclusion, imposed silence, and exile, but he never abandoned his artistic voice and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

A few years after the 1979 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 other films he made in that time—but later chosen by critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Film Festival, receiving an award for best film in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai ultimately departed Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Iranian culture.

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