‘The Fabric of You’, A Heartbreaking Stop Motion Film About a Young Mouse Grieving the Loss of a Lover

“The Fabric of You” by Josephine Lohoar Self is a beautiful, heartbreaking stop motion animation about a young anthropomorphic mouse named Michael who works anonymously as a tailor in a small shop.

When a customer named Isaac comes in for a new suit, he seeks out Michael’s opinion and compliments him on his work. As Michael makes Isaac’s suit, the two find that they are falling in love with each other. When the suit is finished, Isaac visits Michael at his home. Sadly, a loose button on Isaac’s jacket meant a premature end to their relationship. While Michael grieves the loss of Isaac, he is constantly reminded of the unintentional role he played in Isaac’s death. The loss too much to bear, Michael puts on the jacket in hopes of reuniting with his love.

Loahoar Self told Skwigly Magazine that she was inspired by Art Spiegelman‘s Maus.

Spiegelman’s depiction of Jews as mice was highly politicized. Deriving the mouse as a symbol for the Jew from Nazi propaganda, he wanted to emphasize the absurdity of dividing people along such lines. For me, I wanted to use the animal of a mouse to best reflect my protagonist’s personality while also emphasising the bleak, hovel-like living situation he finds himself in. …I tried very hard to approach the topic of grief with sensitivity. I was fortunate enough, during the development stage of the project to have had a really great executive producer. Together we interrogated and challenged certain elements of the script while drawing on our own experiences.

Here’s an inside look at how the film was made.

via Vimeo Staff Picks

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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