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Profound tributes have been shared for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

The headlines of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with opposition voices and those who reflect nostalgically on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

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

Although Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the Islamic regime, a host of prominent officials in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Iranian culture.

The Teacher of a Generation

Several of the current crop of Iranian filmmakers 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 direct political references 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 places historical, even mythic figures in opposition with authoritarian structures of power.

A Cultural Foundation

From a family of celebrated poets, Beyzai was imbued in the richest heritage of Iranian artistry from birth.

He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

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

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

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 detect hidden messages that could be interpreted as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he never abandoned his language and his beliefs," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

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

It was censored in Iran—as were other films he made in that time—but later voted by critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was shown in a newly remastered print at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

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

Although he went into exile, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still make him emotional—and he continued to hope for a new culture and tomorrow for his homeland.