In the Shadow of the Cypress facts for kids

In the Shadow of the Cypress (which means Dar saaye sarv in Persian) is a short animated movie from Iran. It was made in 2023 by directors Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani. The film is about 20 minutes long. It tells a story about a former captain and his daughter. The movie shows how the captain deals with very difficult memories from the past. This condition is sometimes called PTSD. The film was first shown at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023. It later won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

The Story of the Film

This movie tells a story without any talking. It is about a former ship captain. He lives with his daughter in a quiet house by the sea. The captain has trouble with his memories. These memories make him very angry and upset sometimes.

One morning, the captain becomes very angry. He damages their house and pushes his daughter. She decides to pack a suitcase to leave. But then she sees a huge whale on the beach near their home.

The father and daughter try to help the whale. They use their small motorboat to pull it back into the water. But their efforts do not work. The father gets very frustrated. He goes back to his old, broken ship. It is anchored close to the whale.

The captain loves his old ship, even though it is falling apart. He keeps painting it and living inside it. But he has painful memories of when the ship was bombed. This happened a long time ago. His wife died during that attack, when their daughter was very young.

Meanwhile, the daughter takes care of the whale. She gives it water and protects it from the hot sun. Later, some seagulls try to attack the whale. The father had a panic attack earlier because of seagulls. He first scares them away with his rifle. But then, in his anger, he tries to shoot the whale.

His daughter quickly pushes him away. She falls to the ground, very sad that they cannot save the whale. Seeing her upset makes the father realize something. He goes back to his old ship.

The next morning, the daughter looks out the window. She sees her father doing something amazing. He is sinking his old ship on purpose. He ties the ship to the whale's tail. He hopes this will help the whale get back into the ocean.

His plan works, and the whale starts to move. But the father struggles to free himself from the rope. The daughter tries to dive in and save him. She cannot reach him. Luckily, the father floats to the surface. He has finally let go of his old boat. The whale is now free and swims away into the ocean.

Awards and Recognition

In the Shadow of the Cypress has won many important awards. On March 2, 2025, the film won the Best Animated Short Film award at the 97th Academy Awards. This is one of the biggest awards a film can receive!

The movie has also been recognized at many film festivals around the world. Here are some of the awards it has won or been nominated for: