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Widespread homages have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who has died at the age of 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 Shah era also paying homage to Beyzai.

"This loss is a great loss for the art and culture of our country," said the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's subsequent works were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the present administration have also acknowledged his legacy 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 "how to stand up to oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a dramatist and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to deal in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over countless years places archetypal characters in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

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

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

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

He won renown as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Persian film.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that overthrew him—with both systems ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai never opted for the path of least resistance. He withstood years of marginalization, imposed silence, and distance, 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 regard as his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran—as were subsequent works he made in that time—but later chosen 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 Film Festival, winning an award for best film in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

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

Even after he went into exile, his wife, the actress Mozhdeh Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he remained ever hopeful for a new culture and tomorrow for his homeland.