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Widespread homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

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

"This loss is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a host of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Persian arts.

The Teacher of a Generation

Many of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai taught them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided overtly political content in his work, both as a dramatist and a film director, and always said he tried not to deal in overt messages.

But his work over many decades sets historical, even mythic figures in conflict with oppressive religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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, inspired by ancient myths and ceremonies.

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the new wave of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the Islamic theocratic forces that overthrew him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out hidden messages that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, but he did not give up his language and his beliefs," stated Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

A Masterpiece Amidst Conflict

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

It was banned in Iran—as were other films 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 Film Festival, winning an award for best film in the heritage category.

A Hopeful Exile

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

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just the sound of the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a renewed spirit and future for his native land.