The Iranian directors for “In the shadow of the cypress” Oscar winners for best animated short filmwas granted a visa at the last minute and first arrived at Los Angeles three hours before the start of the ceremony, the directors said at Oscar stage.
Hossein Molayemia and Shirin Sohani, the directors of “In the Shadow of the Cypress”, risked participating in the awards ceremony, as Amount reported in February. They had not been able to make other awards because they had struggled to get a visa and because the Iranian government had revoked financial support for film It prevented more international travel.
But as they revealed on stage, molayemia and Sohani had not received their visa until just yesterday.
“It’s a miracle, and talking in front of this expected audience is very difficult for us,” Molayemia said in its acceptance number. “Yes, if we preserve and remain faithful, miracles will happen.”
Molayemia and Sohani dealt with the “extraordinary circumstances” in their speech that it took to make the film and their surprise to be here at this moment.
Molayemia and Soheni previously told Variety that the film took over six years to do and was completely self -financed through development and production. The filmmakers said they had been under sanctions for several years, but things had worsened and “more complicated since President Trump’s time in service. “They added that Iran, after agreeing to finance travel expenses to festivals for the directors, dried money after an interview they did where they discussed the financial challenges to get the film made.
“We didn’t say anything political, but we talked about the financial challenges we met because of sanctions and the devaluation of our currency and how the unreliable internet here complicated things and how many useful online platforms are blocked here in Iran,” said Sohani.
“In The Shadow of the Cypress” is a 2D -animated card about a captain who lives a distant life by the sea with his daughter as he struggles with PTSD. The film played at Venice, Tribeca and La Shorts, including festivals. It was also nominated to Annie Awards And at Annecy.
