Cyrus Neshvad’s ‘The Red Suitcase’ nominated for Oscars

Rewarded as best short film at the last Tirana International Film Festival, the work of Iranian-Luxembourg filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad conquered America for the 95th edition of the Oscars.

After Icarus

Megane KAMBALA

Rewarded as best short film at the last Tirana International Film Festival, the work of Iranian-Luxembourg filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad conquered America for the 95th edition of the Oscars.

“Necessary”. This is how the jury of the Tirana International Film Festival qualified “The Red Suitcase” (“The red suitcase” in French) of Cyrus Neshvad. And for good reason, the spitch of the short film is quite appropriate given the latest news in Iran: a 16-year-old Iranian teenager, veiled, is afraid to take her red suitcase on the conveyor belt of Luxembourg airport and go through the exit doors. His anxiety grows every second in the face of what awaits him beyond the boarding gate…

Initially shunned by Pixar, Carlo Vogele’s animated film, which finally found a buyer in Europe, is taking off in America. It was presented in preview last March at the Luxembourg City Film Festival.

A plot that will therefore compete among the 90 short films shortlisted for the 95th edition of the Oscars. Shot exclusively in Luxembourg, the film draws its writing impulses from the director’s Persian roots, who fled Iran with his parents at the age of five to settle in Luxembourg.

“There is a real connection between what is discussed in my film and what is currently happening in Iran. And it is not a hazard.” Staying in touch with part of his family still living in Iran since his own exodus, he assures us that “what is happening now and which has been brought to light for some time has always been latent. My family was telling me horrible things long before all this media coverage, which is why I took up the subject.

A theme dear to the heart of the filmmaker who declared that his thoughts went “to Iranian women who are fighting for their rights”, hoping that “this short film can help change the situation”. “The objective of this film is to abolish the oppression of women all over the world”.

And if 18 minutes may seem short to cover the theme, Cyrus Neshvad ensures that there are no differences between a short and a feature film. “It’s the same problem, a main character, a villain, and how to supplant him before the outcome. But it’s true, if the problem should arise after half an hour in a feature film, for a short, it’s more like three and a half minutes, it’s less forgiving if it’s badly led…”

Short films often noticed

This is not Cyrus Neshvad’s first achievement. Trained in film schools in Montpellier and Paris, his first work “Charlie” was produced by Tarantula in 2001, and the second, “Soheila”, by Samsa Film in 2003.

Fatemeh Khelghat, president of the Simourq association, gives her view on the repressions in Iran and calls on Europeans to support the Iranian people.

The filmmaker has since founded his own production company Cynefilms, with which he notably produced the films “A l’abri”, “Numéro 1765” and “L’Orchidée”. His short film “Son” released in 2016 has also been selected in 136 festivals around the world. What wanted him to win 38 prizes in total, including the “Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis” for the best short film in 2018. A reward doubly acquired thanks to “Portraitiste” in 2021.

Currently, he is preparing his first feature film, “Le Refuge”, the shooting of which will normally begin in March 2023. In light this time, the story of a family with a child waiting for an organ donation, pushed to turn to the black market of Eastern countries to have a chance to see it grow.

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