Spike Jonze's Stop-Motion Animated Short Film - To Die By Your Side

I haven't heard much about Spike Jonze's new short film Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side). The short is a charming felt cut-out stop-motion animated film that Jonze co-directed with Simon Cahn. The film was inspired by the work of fashion designer Olympia Le-Tan, and the full short is available online to watch.

The film is entertainingly fun, and it's no surprise that it was very well made. After all Jonze is a talented director who has fun making the films he works on. Here's what he had to say about the short and how it all came about...

I met Olympia in Paris through friends of mine. She was just starting to make the bags for her friends. She had a bunch of the scraps in her bag, all of the cut-out pieces of felt. I just loved it… We joked about making a film and just went for it. It was this thing with no schedule, no pressure and no real reason to be—other than just that we thought it would be fun.

For this one the feeling definitely started with the handmade aesthetic and charm of Olympia’s work. Instantly I had the idea of doing it in a bookstore after-hours, imagining the lights coming down and these guys off their books. Me and Olympia both wanted to make a love story, and it was fun to do it with these characters. It evolved naturally and it all just started with the feeling. From there you entertain yourself with ideas that excite you.

Watch the short film below and tell us what you think!

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