Oscar-Qualifying Animated Short ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’ Makes Online Debut

For a limited time, animation lovers and cinephiles of all descriptions can stream for free the award-winning short In the Shadow of the Cypress, which recently made its online debut as a Vimeo Staff Pick. Directed by husband-and-wife Iranian filmmaking duo Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi, the intimate family drama is one of the animated shorts qualified for the Academy Awards this year.

Synopsis: A former captain, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, lives with his daughter in a humble house located by the sea. Together, they live an isolated life and have to confront the challenges of a harsh life. Despite the captain’s deep desire to be a devoted and caring father, he finds himself unable to fulfill his role and connect with his daughter in the way that he longs to. One morning, their lives change forever when an unforeseen event occurs. Whether this event proves to be a newfound source of hope or an additional burden remains to be seen.

Molayemi and Sohani wrote, directed and produced the short as well as collaborating on the storyboards, animatics and layout. Molayemi additionally handled the character designs and editing as well as being on the small team of animators for the short, while Sohani tackled composition, background design and color styling.

In the Shadow of the Cypress has won four Oscar-qualifying awards at festivals around the world: the Grand Jury Prize at Animayo (Spain); Best Animation at LA Shorts Fest; Best Short Film (International Animation) at Lebu International Film Festival (Chile); Best Animated Short at Tribeca Film Festival and Best Animated Short at Spark Animation.

You can read more about the making of the short in Animation Magazine‘s interview with the filmmakers here.