Nov 21, 2024

Oscar short film candidates for 2025: "In the Shadow of a Cypress" directed by Hossein Olayemi and Shirin Sohani

Welcome to the spotlight series of Cartoon Brew, which focuses on the 2025 Academy Award-nominated animated shorts. Films in this series have been certified on one of several routes, including winning an Oscar at a film festival, exhibiting in a theater or winning a Student Academy Award.

Today's film is in the shadow of Cypress by Iranian filmmakers duo Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani. The short film has qualified for an Academy Award by winning multiple awards, including Animayo's Grand Jury Award and Tribeca Festival's Best Animated Short Award.

Living in a house by the sea with his daughter, a former boatman with post-traumatic stress disorder has led a grim and secluded life that has been pulled out of its isolation by the unexpected arrival of a stranded whale. When his daughter refuses to give up the animal, the captain will face his own demons in this poignant universal story about resilience.

Cartoon Brew: From the past to the present, going from One character to another Your fine-tuned editing takes the hearty story of your movie to the screen.

Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani: We had certain priorities and obsessions in mind, but our first goal was simply to talk about parents and children. It was to tell all the stories. We did not want to impose a specific goal or end at the beginning of the development of the story. Gradually, our other obsessions found their way into the story almost unconsciously. We preferred to let the story naturally find its own way, which is why we took our time with every detail.

Much of the editing was done in the pre-production phase, apparently to avoid extra costs. However, in some key sequences, it was necessary to change the order of the shots to achieve the best dramatic effect and increase the consistency and continuity of the story. These slight changes were rare and exceptional. We saw the editing process as a form of retouching and minor cropping, rather than making significant changes.

What was forced to connect with you and direct a film about this story or concept-

We were particularly passionate about themes such as PTSD, parenthood, nature and the environment, and the effects of war. Beyond these themes, our own life experiences and our sense of responsibility towards those of us who have endured suffering over the past 46 years have forced us to make this film, especially in honor of the veterans of the Iran-Iraq War who suffer from PTSD.

We understood that the road to completing the project was long, so it was important to be 100% sure and satisfied with the story before moving on to the next stage. Otherwise, extensive work in the future can become an exhausting burden and lead to inadequate results. In essence, achieving satisfaction at each stage served as the necessary fuel for the subsequent stages of the film. So, the more I developed the story, the more keen I became to make the film.

What did you learn through the experience of making this film, production wise, filmmaking wise, creative, or on the subject -

To be completely frank, we learned more in the process of making this film than we were taught in college. This was not our first animated film, as we both earned a master's degree in animation Directing from the Tehran University of the Arts. We had already learned the techniques and principles of animation filmmaking. But we believe that every new project brings new experiences and challenges, each of which requires creative solutions, so a new degree in filmmaking

It is a matter of detail rather than principle. Sometimes, we couldn't rely on traditional methods and had to think outside the box. I felt like I was playing chess, but I was making films, especially under extraordinary circumstances in Iran, so I needed to arrange the crew, budget and equipment as efficiently as possible. Sanctions and the constant devaluation of the currency have made it difficult to survive in our country, not to mention the pursuit of animated filmmaking. It is only the tip of the iceberg that we can mention here in terms of challenges.

No matter how hard I try, I can't fully convey the harsh conditions that I endured in our country while making this film. We had to create an unconventional pipeline for production and maintain resilience to complete the project. As a result, we were able to show this film as a high-budget work, even though it was made on a very low budget compared to other works around the world. Thus, our experience while making this film was quite different from tackling university challenges, and these new conditions taught us a lot of lessons that were not covered in our class.

Can you explain how you developed a visual approach to cinema - why did you settle for this style/technique-

First, it was important not to imitate the visual style of a particular film or artist.So the visual development process took longer than usual. We had to allow enough time for the visual style to ripen and become desirable. It is worth mentioning that we worked on the visual element at the same time as the development of the story. In our films, visual development and the development of the story were interdependent and influenced each other. For example, on some occasions, the unexpected development of the visual process affected the change in the direction of the story.

We were not intended to show off our technical skills. Instead, we didn't want the audience to be distracted by the visual elements and lose focus on the story, so our goal was to keep the audience's attention to the drama or story minimal and simple. In addition, the minimalist scenes were intended to emphasize the loneliness of the character and strengthen the sense of a vague and nowhere place in the film.