A Three-peat to Celebrate: An ALX Film Festival Entry Goes to the Oscars Again
Alexandria, VA – During Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans last month, the Philadelphia Eagles soundly thwarted the Kansas City Chiefs’ hopes to win three championships in a row. This month, the Alexandria Film Festival may well be celebrating an Oscar win for a film screened at the 18th annual AFF this past November: the third time an AFF film presentation courted Oscar.
Patti North, founder and chair of the homegrown AFF film festival, which “ independent filmmaking, beamed with pride last month when I spoke with her about “In the Shadow of the Cyprus” not only making the shortlist for Best Animated Short in December but becoming a favorite for taking the Oscar at the 97th Academy Awards.
The “short list” is actually rather long – consisting of 45 films. To be considered a film short, the entry must be less than forty minutes. The 2025 nominees in this category have been pared down to five films for voter consideration with “Wander to Wonder” and “In the Shadow of the Cyprus” ranked as top contenders.
Voters and critics, as well as members of the nominating guilds, pour over screeners from scores of films. There’s actually an industry and film buff tradition called the Oscars Death Race, where the goal is to watch every nominated film before the Oscars are presented. The race is on!
To make the final nomination cut is no easy feat. Animated shorts lack the gravitas of a feature- length film and the purse power of studio-backed predictions. Less goes far more with shorts. Historically, they haven’t received respect. Recently, the category has become one to watch.
Times are changing. Backlash from AI and CGI, increasingly if not universally employed in contemporary filmmaking, has given credence to old fashioned stop motion film animation. Stop motion is a technique that physically manipulates the objects photographed in small increments between each frame.
This nostalgic motif makes “In the Shadow of the Cyprus” all the more plaintive and endearing. The artful animation is reminiscent of the children’s picture book classic “The Snowy Day,” written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. The book has an animated quality achieved by the cutting of paper shapes which are then photographed to create the timeless illustrations.
“In the Shadow of the Cyprus” unassumingly yet eloquently tells the story of a former captain with PTSD who lives by the sea with his forlorn daughter in a desperate life of solitude and isolation. The 20-minute Iranian produced film has earned 37 award nominations with 34 wins since its premier in 2023.
This little film that could win an Oscar March 2 and can be streamed on Vimeo is an unexpectedly moving examination of the challenges presented by a stressful, secluded, dire existence. Profoundly poignant, its haunting narrative and subdued score will not soon leave you. The Alexandria Film Festival is extremely pleased and proud to have hosted the film’s premier Virginia screening.
You’re probably wondering about those other AFF films to receive Oscar nods In 2007 the first AFF Best of the Fest award was presented to the 2008 Oscar nominated best documentary “War Dance” by co-directors and husband and wife Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine. They didn’t win. But in 2013, their documentary short “Innocente” brought home the coveted gold statuette.
Mark your calendars for November 6-9, 2025. The Alexandria Film Festival returns for its 19th year as one of the premier and oldest film festivals around the DMV. Meantime, check the website for year-round special events and screenings, such as last month’s presentation of “The Poppaw Queen” at the Lyceum in honor of Black History Month. You’ll be glad you did!
ENCORE! ENCORE! Heads Up Zebra Cinephiles and Academy Award Aficionados! AMC Hoffman Center 22 has reprised its Best Picture Showcase Marathons! If you missed screening any of the best of the best of 2025 on the big screen, or missed Day One’s playlist on 2/22, you have another chance to catch some of At Z Movies’ own film favorites. The curtain drops March 1, beginning at noon with the wonderfulness of “Wicked” and ending with “Dune Part 2” at 10:15 p.m.
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