Cyrus Neshvad's I WILL BE ALRIGHT Enters Oscar Race
The short film, which centers on a refugee named Laïla working as the Statue of Liberty, marks Neshvad's return to Oscar consideration after his prior nomination.
I Will Be Alright, a short film by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Cyrus Neshvad, is a timely short about a 16-year-old Iranian refugee facing deportation to the regime she fled. The film has qualified for consideration at the 99th Academy Awards after winning Best of the Fest at the 30th LA Shorts International Film Festival, an Academy Award-qualifying festival.
At the centre of the story is Laïla, a 16-year-old refugee facing the prospect of being sent back to Iran. While fighting to remain in the country she hoped would offer her safety, Laïla works dressed as the Statue of Liberty, a striking contradiction in a land where her only freedom is a costume.
The film explores what freedom means when it is conditional, and the human connections that can become a lifeline for those caught between borders, governments and systems beyond their control. 'This film explores how our survival depends on human unity,' said Neshvad.
For Neshvad, who is of Iranian origin and moved to Luxembourg at the age of five, the themes of identity, displacement and belonging are deeply personal. Growing up between two cultures has continued to shape the stories he chooses to tell.
I Will Be Alright also marks Neshvad's return to the Academy Awards conversation following The Red Suitcase, which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2023.
The filmmaker has directed five short films that have screened at more than 400 festivals worldwide, collecting over 200 awards, including three Luxembourgish Oscars. He is regarded as one of Luxembourg's leading contemporary filmmakers.
Neshvad is also having a significant year on the feature side. His debut feature, Child, premiered at the 34th Raindance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature.
Child has since been selected to represent Luxembourg at the 99th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category, putting Neshvad in the unusual position of entering this awards season with both a feature representing his country and an Oscar-qualified short.
With I Will Be Alright, Neshvad once again uses an intimate human story to confront a much larger question: what does freedom really mean when the place offering sanctuary can also send you back to the place you escaped?
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