GILBERT

Short Talk with Jordi Jiménez (director)

BEST SHORT ANIMATION FILM Category

22nd IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival 2025

Spain, Animation, No Dialogue, 00:12:48, 2024

Synopsis: Gilbert and Sullivan are inhabitants of a small archipelago in the middle of the ocean where Sullivan is a trumpeter and Gilbert distributes packages with his gondola. But one day Gilbert decides to keep a package that was intended for his neighbor.

Biography: Arturo Lacal from Valencia, Alex Salu from Gijón and Jordi Jiménez from Girona are the co-directors of "Gilbert," their joint debut film. The three met in a stop-motion animation course and from there they created the short film Haiku, which later inspired Gilbert. Individually, they have experience and training in visual arts (in addition to stop-motion) in painting, illustration, drawing, set design, post-production, editing, and graphic design. Arturo is responsible for animation, Alex for art, and Jordi for character design. "Gilbert" is the result of their passion for stop-motion and their respect for authenticity, tangibility, and originality.
 

Arturo Lacal, Alex Salu, Jordi Jiménez, directors

Toma Manov: Jordi, my first question is about the film’s artistic style. It has a scrapbook aesthetic, with the animation looking like layered pieces of paper and hand-drawn elements. How did you arrive at this choice?

Jordi Jiménez: We chose this approach not only for the aesthetics, but for the materials, specifically, we used two types: cardboard and plastic or acetate. These materials represent the duality of the characters. That’s why we decided to separate them using different textures.

Toma Manov: At various points in the film, the characters turn back into pencil sketches. Why you chose to include that?

Jordi Jiménez: It’s my personal drawing style. I like imperfection. It was a symbolic decision. The sketchy quality represents human imperfection. 

Toma Manov: So the decision was also connected to how you showed transitions between interior and exterior worlds, and the character’s emotional state?

Jordi Jiménez: We are three co-directors, and this was an important discussion. The majority voted yes, but I was the one who voted no. We wanted to separate these four moments, moving from interior to exterior, as well as reflect the character’s internal state in each of those moments.

Toma Manov: Speaking of co-directing, how was the process of working as a team on a short film of this scale?

Jordi Jiménez: It was very exciting and enriching though also slower. This short film took four years to finish. But at the same time, a collaborative process like this goes much deeper. It’s more complex, and very interesting. For example, we really enjoyed working on the script. It happened during COVID, so we had many meetings, lots of video conferences.

 
Interviewer: Toma Manov

Editor: Martin Kudlac

Toma Manov’s Take

Gilbert is an animated short film by Jordi Jimenez discussing the duality that a human being carries within their identity. With a runtime of almost 13 minutes, the Spanish production directed by Jordi Jimenez, Arturo Lacal, Alex Salu delivers a chaptered story of two characters existing in the solitude of an archipelago in the middle of the ocean.

This message is portrayed through the collaborative use of two materials that make the animation possible, plastic and paper. The plastic allows for a sense of transparency, both on a visual and metaphorical level. Along with the application of paper, a scrapbook art style is birthed on screen, showcasing the whimsical nature of the animation artist’s approach. 

With no dialogue present, a jazzy music serves as the main form of interaction between the two protagonists, Gilbert and Sullivan, placing the soundtrack as one of the most important elements of the storytelling technique of the project, equalling it to the visuals. The movement of the characters is fluid, the colour grading is bright and well saturated, an ocean-like shade of blue is predominant during the sequences that take place on the exterior, while a warm, yellow tint overtakes the image during the scenes inside the homes of the characters, forming a welcoming visual ambience that reflects the coziness of a home.

Despite its short runtime, the film is divided into four chapters, fragmenting the plotline into four visual parts, boldly separated by a black screen with numbering scribbled on it. In the industry of animation shorts, it succeeds in distinguishing itself visually due to its unique art style, an increasing challenge in today’s world where creativity dominates and competition is ever-so-increasing.

Gilbert is a visually cohesive and creatively ambitious animated short that effectively conveys complex ideas of duality and identity without relying on dialogue. Its distinct scrapbook aesthetic, inventive use of plastic and paper, and strong musical storytelling set it apart as a recognizable entry in contemporary animation.

What distinguishes the film is its harmonious fusion of form and theme, where visual transparency mirrors emotional vulnerability, and music becomes the language of connection. The chaptered structure adds a literary touch, enhancing its conceptual depth within a compact format.

With its strong artistic identity, Gilbert stands out in the increasingly competitive field of animated shorts and is especially suited for festivals that celebrate unique animation, and non-verbal storytelling. It will appeal to audiences looking for poetic narratives that merge craftsmanship with emotional resonance.