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Oscars 2025-winning Iranian short film In the Shadow of the Cypress, created by Barfak Animation Studio, has become a talking point on social media platforms. Directed by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani, the 20-minute film uses beautiful animation and no words to convey a poignant tale of PTSD and bereavement.
Since its premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival in 2023, the film has been winning praise and accolades worldwide. The 2025 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is also a feather in its cap.
However, during the award acceptance, Hossein Molayemi appeared to have grabbed the phone from Shirin Sohani who was reading the speech. Molayemi then continued reading the rest of it which is now being criticized online by those who watched the ceremony live.
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Hossein Molayemi slammed by some netizens for snatching the phone from Shirin Sohani during Oscars 2025
In the Shadow of the Cypress faced a lot of trouble before and after its nomination for Oscars 2025 in the Best Animated Short Film category. The self-funded psychological drama took six and a half years to make and after securing the nomination, the filmmakers Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani, did not receive the visa to travel to the United States till a day before the ceremony.
In a star-studded Oscars 2025 ceremony hosted by Conan O'Brien, the film won against Beautiful Men, Magic Candies, Wander to Wonder, and Yuck!.
Shirin Sohani began the acceptance speech, sharing about the struggle of obtaining a visa.
"We were so totally disappointed. And now we are here," she said.
However, her partner Hossein Molayemi took the phone from the hand from which she was reading and continued with the speech. He shared how miraculous it was that they were able to make the film given the circumstances in their country.
Noticing his act of taking away the phone, one X user shared her opinion:
"That guy snatched the phone from her because he said she wasn't saying the words correctly.... but mama actually memorized half of the Oscars speech in English... and was doing a great job... only for him to READ the same words she had just said. I didn't like that..."
Other people who also noticed the act shared their take on the matter. One user wrote:
"I thought I was the only one that noticed. It was all kinds of eek."
"OK, I was beginning to think that I was crazy because I haven’t seen anyone else mention this. She definitely looked defeated after he snatched that phone away," another person shared.
Another user shared:
"I was WAITING to find this somewhere, it was so awkward, she had said most of it already and he kept telling her no and she was wrong, how nervous she probably was already!"
However, some people had neutral opinions on the matter and even agreed to give Hossein a pass given the nervousness that can occur due to the big stage and the tight speech time at Oscars 2025.
"Ok, yes, also noticed! Hope it was just his nerves cuz we are not about that moment. He probably blacked out. On the other hand, her tight smile KNEW "this ain't a good look," shared one user on X.
"I didn’t like it either, I think for his part just nerves and probably they’re both really sweet good people but she was doing great!" wrote another.
Stay tuned for more news and information about Oscars 2025.
