Based on a meticulously detailed letter, the hard-knock lives of young 19th century chimney sweeps are uncovered in this animation, which masterfully articulates the finer points of preparing children as young as four for a life of hard labor up the flues of the bourgeoisie.
The idea for the film is based on an early childhood memory of a bird falling down my grandparent’s fireplace. It is one of those vague memories that really grabs you and stays. Later when I did some research on the systematical abuse of the 19th century children chimney sweepers, I connected the two dots.
Like in my previous film “Carlotta’s Face” I use hand drawn 2D animation with a personal style to be able to create a unique access to a multi-layered story of fate through metaphoric images.