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Profound homages are pouring in for Bahram Beyzai, a giant of Iranian cinema and theatre, who passed away at the age of 87 in the US.

Homeland in Mourning

The front pages of publications in Iran mourn his loss, with opposition voices and those who look back fondly on the Shah era also offering their respects to Beyzai.

"His passing is a great loss for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked the exiled prince, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Even though Beyzai's later films were prohibited in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of prominent officials in the present administration have also paid tribute his contribution to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Persian directors have acknowledged their debt 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 trade in overt messages.

But his work over countless years sets archetypal characters in opposition with oppressive structures of power.

Roots in Tradition

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

He first rose to prominence 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 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 sniff out hidden messages that could be seen as criticism.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He endured years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and distance, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his convictions," stated the filmmaker in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the 1979 Revolution, he produced what many regard as 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 subsequent works he made in that time—but later voted by film critics as the greatest Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Biennale, winning an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

A Hopeful Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and lived out his final days in the US, where he lectured on Iranian culture.

Although 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 new culture and future for his homeland.