In the Shadow of the Cypress is an animated short that tells the story of a Persian man, who struggles with PTSD, and his daughter, who tries to help him cope, but is losing hope. The 19-minute piece is one of 15 films that made the shortlist in the Animated Short Film category for the 97th Academy Awards – a cut down from the 88 films that qualified in the category.
Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani are the filmmakers behind the project, which took more than six years to produce due to a number of challenges. The film is not autobiographical, but was inspired by personal life experiences, notes Sohani, adding that her own father was a soldier and was affected both mentally and physically by the Iran/Iraq war. Molayemi also has a complicated relationship with his father, and felt that setting the story in the Persian Gulf, with its familiar ships and sea, was most appropriate.
The film begins with a man, who is shown struggling with mental health issues. His daughter tries to intervene and comfort him, but without much luck. The man reflects on his past through vivid dreams and memories. His ship was damaged during the war and is in need of serious repair, adding to his stress. While he is experiencing this mental breakdown, a whale washes up on the shore near their home. They are without the resources to free the heavy marine mammal, but the daughter tries to comfort it by splashing water on it as it lays in the sun, and then spreads wet towels across its back to keep it cool. The father sees her efforts as hopeless, and offers little assistance. Later, however, he is struck with an idea – one that would sacrifice his ship but could free the whale.
The film touches on many topics, notes Molayemi, including the environment, war, women's issues, and, most importantly, the dynamic between the father and daughter.
“It’s both ambiguous and poetic,” he says of the film’s title. The father is thin, like a cypress tree, which in Persian culture is a symbol of resistance, purity and innocence. It offers little shelter from the sun, just as the father offers little support for his daughter.
Sohani adds that their goal was to allow the audience to interpret the meaning of the story, without overt symbolism, though there are subtle references. The whale, for example, could be messenger from the mother/wife, and the traditional-looking ship might represent the father's trauma. The sea, she adds, is a major element, as it was the location of the Iran/Iraq war.
The challenges the filmmaking team faced were equally financial, talent-based and political. The country’s economic crisis caused a devaluation of currency that affected paying their animation team. Since so many people have left Iran, finding skilled animation talent was also tough and influenced their decision to create the piece in a simple but artistic 2D, hand-drawn style. Electrical issues caused them to lose use of the Wacom Cintiq tablets and the computers they relied on. Additionally, once they had completed the short, censorship and sanctions restricted their ability to participate in festivals and screenings.
“(We thought) the 2D, hand-drawn style was more artistic,” reflects Molayemi, pointing to the use of geometrical shapes and a mixed media technique.
Sohani agrees, adding that finding animators to work on the project was one of their biggest challenges.
“We don't have a lot of professional animators,” she says of the country, “(so we) chose designs that (they) can do.”
Making the cut to the next round of Oscar nominees would be a “dream come true,” says Molayemi, adding that it could help pave the way for future work and help persuade financiers and producers to fund them. He adds that it would also be a huge honor to be acknowledged by Academy members.