Rob Munday

Baldness seems to be a common theme in the world of short films. In animated short Le Futur Sera Chauve (The Bald Future), filmmaker Paul Cabon predicted his future hair loss, while in Oskar Lehemaa’s WTF favourite Bad Hair we followed a man going to some strange extremes to find a cure for baldness. Director Armelle Mercat adopts a more family-friendly approach in her humorous animation Tête d’Oliv (Keep your hair on, Olivier).

Centred around the smitten relationship of Olivier and his wife Christine, Tête d’Oliv takes its viewers inside their bubble of domestic bliss as their spoilt cat, Fabrice, unravels his owner’s clever plans to hide his hair loss. But Olivier is a scientist, and even though the introduction of a machine that can rapidly grow grass signposts the direction the direction the narrative will take, Mercat’s short still takes its audience on an undeniably entertaining ride.

The amicable nature of the film comes partly from the film’s playful style and partly from its comedic approach. Sure, it regularly relies on the tried and tested humour found within its feline characters for laughs here and there (the scene with the Sphynx cat is a particularly memorable one), but its the charming relationship of its central couple that truly wins our hearts. Director Mercat captures their affection for each other perfectly, bringing the viewers close to the action  as they get amorous, welcoming us into the warm embrace of their inner circle. Even as Olivier suffers a loss of confidence as to whether his wife will still love him when she discovers he’s follically challenged, we know all will end well as Mercat has already instilled a confidence in their relationship throughout her audience.

Olivier, Christine and Fabrice form a strange but adorable threesome in Mercat’s short

Visually, Tête d’Oliv is also a hugely likeable piece, its pen and watercolour approach creating a flowing aesthetic which is distinct, yet also works to put the focus squarely on the film’s characters and their story. The character design here is also essential in capturing the spirit of Olivier and Christine, the details in the close-ups of their faces bringing an empathetic range of emotions into play and again amplifying the connection the audience feels to its characters. You can see a great example of this in the final 45-seconds of the film as the facial expressions of Olivier, Christine and even Fabrice combine to create a conclusion that will bring joy, affection and a final laugh to the close of proceedings.

A French animator, Mercat worked on several short film projects, including Chez moi by Phuong Mai Nguyen and Yul et le serpent by Gabriel Harel, before directing Tête d’Oliv. The filmmaker now has a new short in the works, Wild House-share, which is inspired by the African tale The Goat and the Tiger.