When your home melts away, where do you go?

Today’s wonderful (beautiful) thing is a remarkable short film called Migrants. The award-winning film was created by students at PÔLE, a 3D animation school in Roubaix, France. The film is sweet and sad and completely engaging. The film’s main theme is of course ecological, but it also touches on race and on the plight of refugees. Migrants feels quite timely, but when I thought about it, I realized there has probably never been a period when it wouldn’t feel of-the-moment.

“We knew we wanted to make a short film about society and current issues. In 2018, there was a controversy about the “Aquarius” boat, which had rescued migrants in the Mediterranean sea but no country wanted to allow the boat to land at its ports. We were touched by this, and we were inspired by this event as the subject for our movie. So we made a story about the issue of migration, but with the global warming theme layered on top of it. With polar bears as our main characters, as they are one of the species most affected by climate change.”

– Zoé Devise, Hugo Caby, Antoine Dupriez, Aubin Kubiak, and Lucas Lermytte

The film’s digital characters seem to be woven from wool and felt, which makes them seem more approachable and relatable somehow, like a treasured teddy bear or childhood toy. I also found the soundtrack and sound design to add to Migrants‘s sense of intimacy and believability.

The filmmakers don’t seem to have their own websites yet, but you can follow PÔLE IIID Digital & Creative School on their website.