Bottle

Long distance relationships are hard at the best of time, but for some it is much harder than for others.  This incredibly sweet (but please don't let that put you off) animation by Kirsten Lepore tracks the relationship between two individuals as they attempt to communicate over great distances.

The gap that separates them is not confined to simple geography, however, and should they decide to meet there are obstacles that are perhaps insurmountable in their way.

Quite rightly this animation that tells the story of the love affair between creatures made from sand and ice took first place 2010's Vimeo Awards Community Choice.  It tells a very simple tale but I can only imagine how difficult this must have been to make.  Not only is stop motion work for the very patient, doing it in the controlled environment of a studio is one thing.  Creating it outdoors when the vagaries of time and weather have their say too must have been akin to one of the challenges of Hercules.  Every second of this smart, very human film indicates that it must have very much been a labor of love.

If you would like to see more of Kirsten Lepore's work please visit her Vimeo page or, indeed her own website which has loads of information about her work as well as one of the cutest web site title banners that I have ever seen.