Discover In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film (2023), a hauntingly beautiful Animated shorts by Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani. Watch now.
🌲🐋 In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film (2023) by Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani 🇮🇷✨
In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film (2023) – A powerful Animated shorts by Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani. Watch the poignant journey unfold.
📋 Quick Facts
- Year: 2023 🗓️
- Runtime: 20 minutes ⏱️
- Country: Iran 🇮🇷
- Language: No dialogue (wordless) 🤐
- Genre: Animated Drama 🎨
- Directors: Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani 🎥
- Status: OSCAR WINNER for Best Animated Short Film (2025) 🏆
Watch the Trailer
Watch the Shorts
🎭 Synopsis
In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film 2023; A former sea captain suffering from PTSD lives in a secluded house by the sea with his daughter 👨👧. Their relationship is fraught and strained due to his traumatic past—he has violent outbursts, shoves her, and lives in psychological torment 😰.
When a massive whale beaches itself on their shore 🐋, father and daughter must work together to try to save it. In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film 2023; This unexpected crisis forces the captain to confront his demons while the whale becomes a powerful metaphor for both entrapment and healing 🌊💔➡️💝
🌟 Creative Team & Production
- Directors: Hossein Molayemi & Shirin Sohani (husband-wife duo, both fine artists) 🎨
- Production: Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon) + Barfak Animation Studio 🏫
- Music: Afshin Azizi 🎵
- Animation: 2D hand-drawn with traditional Persian motifs 🇮🇷✏️
- Production Time: Nearly 7 years due to economic sanctions, censorship, and currency devaluation in Iran ⏳💪
🏆 Historic Achievements
- 97th Academy Awards (2025): WINNER – Best Animated Short Film 🥇
- Iran’s FIRST-EVER Oscar in animation! 🎉🇮🇷
- Tribeca Film Festival 2024: Best Animated Short 🏆
- LA Shorts International Film Festival 2024: Best Animation 🌟
- Animayo International Film Festival 2024: Grand Jury Award 🥇
- Venice Film Festival 2023: Orizzonti section premiere (nominated for Best Short) 🎭
- Total: 38 wins & 38 nominations worldwide! 🔥
🎨 Visual Style & Symbolism
- Minimalist aesthetic: Simple character designs, vast empty spaces, muted color palette 🎨
- Surreal elements: Father dissolves into white petals, shatters like glass, melts into puddles 🌸💎💧
- Color coding: Warm pastels = daughter’s nurturing nature; dark blues/blacks = father’s anguish 🌈
- The Cypress Tree: In Persian culture, symbolizes honesty, morality, and resilience (not mourning as in Western tradition) 🌲
- The Whale: Represents both trauma’s weight and the possibility of healing 🐋
💖 Key Themes
- PTSD & mental health in family relationships 🧠💔
- Father-daughter bonds strained by trauma 👨👧
- Healing through connection 🤝✨
- Art as resistance (made despite sanctions/censorship) ✊🎬
- Hope amid darkness 🌅
🔥 Critical Reception
- “A visceral, visual tale of PTSD with zero dialogue… stunning really” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- “The best short animation I have ever seen in my life” 🏆
- “Psychologically harrowing yet emotionally captivating” 😢💪
- “A testament to resistance and the power of art, even in times of crisis” 🎨✊
- “The whale symbolism is potent and the animation is one-of-a-kind” 🐋✨
📺 Where to Watch
- Kanopy: Available for free with library card 📚
- YouTube: Official uploads available 📱
- Festival circuit: Still touring internationally 🎪
Bottom Line: In the Shadow of the Cypress Short Film 2023; This 20-minute masterpiece is a hauntingly beautiful, wordless meditation on trauma and healing that made history for Iranian cinema. With its stunning 2D animation, powerful metaphors, and profound emotional depth, it’s not just an Oscar winner—it’s a testament to the resilience of artists creating under impossible conditions. A must-see! 🇮🇷🌟🐋