Many student films come and go. It is inevitable.
Some, like the recent Bernie, are absolutely superb and others are awfully lacklustre. This is especially the case when it comes to animation, falling into the pitfalls of subpar drawings or untalented art. However, when Laura Ann Stubbs came into our sights, thanks to the film networks, we were very taken by her exquisite talent in this ridiculously superb and imaginative The Tailor’s Thread.
Using stop-animation, The Tailor’s Thread focuses on a shop (a tailors, none the less,) at night time. A lonely and frail tailor comes to life only in the twilight and with the help of the magical tools, they help him create the masterpiece that he has been making for as long as he can recall.
Stubbs claims that she is a massive fan of Tim Burton and Eastern European Puppetry, even winning a research grant to study in Prague. While this may be her Vimeo bio, all this information also shines through in her work; with a definite feel of Vincent and Jan Svankmejer’s Alice in Wonderland combined. From the delightful score to the characters who come to life as soon as darkness falls. While there are moments a little too jerky, fluidity does come after practice. And in places, it adds to that atmosphere. For a first time filmmaker this is brimming with wide eyed imagination that is aching to be used in a feature.
The Tailor’s Thread is a stunning film to have figuring on her portfolio because its execution, the plot and the two minute glimpse into the artistic talent of Stubbs, prove that she is someone who is going to have a long and proactive career in animation.
