Short of the Day
A stop-motion tale for all ages.
I’m not one to go in much for the “it’s like ___ meets ___” school of film description, but this time I can’t help myself: imagine if Bela Tarr made stop-motion animated shorts written in the vein Roald Dahl. If that’s something you can start to wrap your mind around, then you’re already in love with The Lighthouse, a black-and-white stop-motion short film from writer/director/animator/editor Simon Scheiber.
Scheiber spent seven years of his life making the film, which was financed by commissioned projects he took in-between crafting his labor of love. Into the parameters of the 11-minute film he has edited together 14,000 photographs, creating a seamless cinematic flipbook that bursts with beauty and holds appeal for audiences of all ages.
The story tells of a solitary lighthouse keeper who makes a surprising discovery that initiates a journey out of his monotonous routine and into uncharted territory. Adventure, charm, drama, grace: The Lighthouse has all of these to spare. It is a gentle, tender, intelligent film whose story has as much heart as Scheiber did for its telling.
For his Herculean efforts, Scheiber has had his film selected for showcase in more than 30 film festivals worldwide, including Leeds International Film Festival, Bristol’s Encounters Film Festival, Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and the Hiroshima International Animation Festival, and at all of them he was met with praise and admiration for the level of both his technical and narrative prowess. Add your name to the list of his fans by clicking play. And if you got them, don’t be afraid to share the film with your kids, they might just love it more than you.
Related Topics: Filmmaking, Short Films
