“In the Shadow of the Cypress” is a 2023 Iranian animated short by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani. It premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, making history by claiming Iran’s first Oscar in animation. “In the Shadow of the Cypress” uses striking surrealistic techniques to vividly portray the experience of PTSD, helping viewers to understand the emotional and powerful impact of trauma.
The film tells of a story of a former captain with PTSD living in an isolated home by the sea with his daughter. Their relationship is strained due to his struggles with his traumatic past. One day, a whale is stranded near their home, stirring up challenges for their relationship and forcing the father to confront his demons. This tale explores trauma but unfolds to be one of connection and hope.
The film employs a minimalist aesthetic, characterized by simplicity in its character and world design, the use of vast, empty spaces, and a muted colour palette. The absence of dialogue, limited cast, and single location intensify the narrative and sharpen its focus. As Sohani notes, “simplicity and minimalism allowed the story to keep the top priority”. [1]
What stands out in this film is the incorporation of surrealism to highlight emotional points. A key moment occurs when the daughter attempts to leave their home; the father transforms into white petals that entwine around her, imploring her not to leave.
In one scene, the father observes her daughter’s hopelessness in her futile attempts to save the whale. She sits with her back towards him, and as he watches, melts into a shapeless form.
At another pivotal story point, the father, gripped by flashbacks, aims his gun at the whale. When the daughter intervenes by pushing him to the ground, his body shatters like glass upon impact.
Surrealism in animation often transforms the world into a dreamlike space where the visuals are fantastic, reality is fluid, and stories follow their own internal logic. Although the narrative of “In the Shadow of the Cypress” is grounded in realism, surrealism is woven into this world and used as a powerful tool to heighten the emotional impact of the film’s narrative developments.
In addition to these surrealist metaphors, the film appears to use abstract elements in the depiction of the father’s traumatic flashbacks. These stark images are cut forcefully into the present-day scenes, creating a jarring contrast in colour, shape, and texture. Dominated by red, black, and white, they resemble roughly hewn linocut prints, disrupting the calm aesthetic of the film’s established world.
This technique reflects the fragmented nature of PTSD flashbacks. Molayemi claims, “Our own lives are the source of inspiration for creating the inner world of the characters in this film”. [1] Sohani’s father is a war veteran who had lost an eye and still carries a splinter in his skull, while Molayemi has a difficult relationship with his father. The many Iran-Iraq war veterans suffering from PTSD were also significant sources of inspiration and reference. In fact, the scene where the father hits his head against the mirror was directly informed by what they saw on a visit to a hospital for war veterans. This commitment to authenticity extended also to its depiction of traumatic memories.
Surprisingly, when studying the flashback scenes frame by frame, the images reveal themselves to be predominantly figurative, not abstract. Some flashback images, like a fish or a tap (Figures 1 and 2), are identifiable because of their clear silhouettes, or because they appear on screen for at least two frames. Other images, like an ear or layered wolf heads (Figures 3 and 4), are less distinct and stay on screen for only one frame, rendering them indiscernible. These figurative images are designed for impact, to be felt rather than interpreted. Viewed at normal speed, they are perceived as abstract.
This is a sequence of images (start from top, left to right) shown within just two seconds. The frames underlined in blue are the non-flashback images, each held on screen for 6 frames. The rest of the images are flashbacks, each held for one or two frames.
Like PTSD’s fragmented, intrusive and subconscious memories, the film conceals a hidden library of disturbing images, revealed only through frame-by-frame scrutiny. The film’s visceral impact on viewers undoubtedly achieves one of the creators’ primary objectives: “to allow the audience to feel the lives of individuals suffering from PTSD and their families with their whole being”. [5]
“In the Shadow of the Cypress” is a film that courageously combines different styles and aesthetics. Set within a minimal and simple world, poignant moments are amplified through surrealist techniques. The depiction of PTSD uses stark, contrasting figurative images in an abstract and visceral way, concealing a horror that is accessible only on close examination. Sohani says that “their goal was to allow the audience to interpret the meaning of the story, without overt symbolism…” [5] These strategies invite the viewer to engage deeply with the themes and meanings in the film. Molayemi further elaborates on their creative intention, saying, “We wanted our film to be truly valuable like a hand-woven carpet.” [2] Indeed, this film seamlessly weaves together diverse techniques, creating a powerful narrative that invites the audience to explore the complexities of trauma, relationship and hope.
References:
- Barfak Studio. (2025, February 4). The making of “In the Shadow of the Cypress” [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HeFQqBqKd8
- Brewster, A. (2025, February 14). Shirin Sohani & Hossein Molayemi – In the Shadow of the Cypress. Directors Notes. https://directorsnotes.com/2025/02/14/shirin-sohani-hossein-molayemi-in-the-shadow-of-the-cypress/
- DW Farsi. (2025, February 27). From Tehran to the Oscars: A conversation with the creators of “In the Shadow of the Cypress” [Az Tehran ta Oscar; Goftogoo ba sazandegan “Dar saye sarv”] [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKkW3QwD57E
- Film and Television Business. (2024, November 19). In the Shadow of the Cypress interview. https://film-business.com/2024/11/19/intheshadowofcypressinterview/
- Giardina, D. (2024, November/December). ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’: The making of. Post Magazine. https://www.postmagazine.com/Publications/Post-Magazine/2024/November-December-2024/-I-In-the-Shadow-of-the-Cypress-I-The-making-of-.aspx
- Mount Sinai Health System. (2023). Traumatic memories are represented differently than regular sad memories in the brains of people with PTSD, new research shows. https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2023/traumatic-memories-are-represented-differently-than-regular-sad-memories-in-the-brains-of-people-with-ptsd-new-research-shows
- Reviewer, I. (2025, February). In the Shadow of the Cypress: An All-Around Triumph. Indie Shorts Mag. https://www.indieshortsmag.com/reviews/2025/02/in-the-shadow-of-the-cypress-an-all-around-triumph/#google_vignette
Dawn Lam is a lecturer in Animation at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Her career in animation encompasses work on feature films, television series, and advertisements, including her role as a character animator at Walt Disney Animation Australia. She is currently pursuing a PhD at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), with a research focus on minimalist animation.