Iranian Short Animation ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’ Wins Oscar
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian short animation ‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’ won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 97th Oscars.
The 97th Academy Awards announced its winners, with In the Shadow of the Cypress, directed by Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi, securing the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. The Iranian production stood out in a category often dominated by Western studios.
In the Best Animated Feature category, the Latvian film Flow, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, took home the Oscar. The dialogue-free film follows the journey of a black cat and triumphed over Hollywood contenders such as Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot. Flow was created using Blender, an open-source animation software, and previously won the Golden Globe for Best Animation. It also became the highest-grossing film in Latvian cinemas and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Oscars recognized a diverse lineup of winners across categories. The Best Picture award was contested by films like Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, The Cardinal Assembly, and Dune: Part Two. The acting categories featured names such as Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), while The Cardinal Assembly and A Complete Unknown were among the films honored for screenplay.
The 97th Academy Awards highlighted a strong presence of international films, with Flow winning Best Animated Feature and In the Shadow of the Cypress marking a milestone for Iranian animation in the global film industry.
