BOLES — Špela Čadež’s Award-Winning Stop-Motion Drama Blending Reality and Fiction

Špela Čadež’s 2013 stop-motion short Boles is a masterclass in narrative craft and puppet-animation artistry. Based on Maxim Gorky’s short story Her Lover, the film brings together psychological tension, textured analog visuals, and an emotionally layered exploration of loneliness and aspiration. Over a decade after its release, Boles continues to resonate across the international animation community and remains one of the most celebrated Slovenian stop-motion films of the last 20 years.

A Writer, a Neighbor, and a Blurred Reality

The story follows Filip, an aspiring writer living in a cramped, decaying apartment in a poor district of the city. Desperate for literary success and fantasizing about a more glamorous life in the wealthier part of town, Filip battles writer’s block and the crushing mundanity of his surroundings.

Everything changes when his neighbor, Tereza, knocks on his door. Tereza—an older woman whom Filip tries to avoid—asks him to write a letter to her fiancé. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly becomes something deeper and far more unsettling. As Tereza returns with requests for more letters, each more emotional and elaborate than the last, Filip finds himself drawn into a psychological game where the line between truth and fabrication begins to collapse.

Čadež’s adaptation shifts Gorky’s early-20th-century narrative into a tactile, contemporary miniature world. The puppets’ subtle expressions, the worn texture of the sets, and the lighting design all heighten the emotional tension as Filip’s internal and external realities start to merge.

A Distinctive Visual Language

Animated entirely with puppet stop-motion techniques, Boles showcases detailed craftsmanship from its miniature interiors to the expressive silicone and textile puppets. Animation director Špela Čadež—known for her analog sensibilities and a portfolio of films blending realism with psychological depth—builds a world that feels intimate yet decayed, poetic yet gritty.

The production design, handled by a team including Žiga Lebar and Mateja Rojc, highlights the contrast between Filip’s aspirations and the drabness of his lived environment. Gordana Bobojević’s costume work for the puppets helps reinforce character identities, while the carefully considered cinematography and multiplane staging add richness and dimensionality to each scene.

International Recognition

Following its release, Boles became a major festival standout, eventually earning more than 50 international awards and honors. Key wins include:

Golden Spike — Best Short Film, Valladolid International Film Festival (2013)
Vesna Award — Best Short Film, Slovene Film Festival (2013)
Golden Dove — Animated Films & Videos, DOK Leipzig (2013)
Best Short Film, Trieste Film Festival (2014)
Debut Prize, Hiroshima International Animation Festival (2014)
Best Animation Film — National Competition, Dresden Film Festival (2014)

The short screened widely across Europe, Asia, and North America, helping establish Čadež as one of Slovenia’s most notable contemporary animators.

Cast and Creative Team

Director: Špela Čadež
Producers: Tina Smrekar, Špela Čadež
Screenwriters: Špela Čadež, Gregor Zorc
Cast: Katja Levstik, Grega Zorc
Original Story: Her Lover by Maxim Gorky
Production Countries: Slovenia / Germany
Release Year: 2013

A Lasting Achievement in European Stop-Motion

Boles remains a benchmark for independent puppet animation, demonstrating how mature, psychologically complex storytelling can thrive within handcrafted stop-motion techniques. Whether viewed as an adaptation, a character study, or a work of artistic craftsmanship, the film stands out as a powerful example of emotionally charged animation created through tactile, analog means.