‘Sweet Like Lemons’ Director Jenny Jokela Paints a Flavorful Reflection on Letting Go

The bittersweet sensation of moving on from a harmful relationship is explored with evocative hand-painted animation in Sweet Like Lemons, the 2023 short film from U.K.-based Finnish animator, director and illustrator Jenny Jokela. Following on from her Annecy Cristal-winning RCA graduate short Barbeque and colorful Finnish children’s show Hoppsorna, Sweet Like Lemons continues the artist’s exploration of ways to visualize complex emotions and challenging topics.

Sweet Like Lemons premiered at Annecy 2023 and has since screened in the official selections of OIAF, AFI FEST, Cinanima and Sitges, as well as being longlisted for the BAFTAs. As the short today makes its online streaming debut through Short of the Week, and has been selected as a Vimeo staff pick, we caught up with Jokela for a quick email interview about her personal and moving film:

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us how the inspiration for the short came about?

Jenny Jokela: Although the film does not directly depict me or the other person involved, the inspiration of the film was to create a therapeutic practice for myself where I could work through the emotions and struggles of coming out of a bad relationship.

How long did you work on it?

I started working on the film in 2018 at the Frontevraud residency (NEF Animation, France), so officially five years. However, I did a lot of commissioned work in between, so it was not a full time project. The majority of the film was animated in 2021 and painted in 2022.

How was the animation produced? Which tools were used?

The film is self-produced, with a €10,000 grant from the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland. (Now it’s distributed by Bonobostudio). I first animated it digitally using TVPaint, then printed out each frame and painted it by hand on paper using acrylic paint. The sections where the paper rips are also created by hand.

What was the toughest aspect of creating this short?

Traditional narrative does not come naturally to me, and my films therefore tend to focus more on taking the viewer on an emotional and symbolic journey. This film in particular is very personal to me and although I knew exactly what each color and figure symbolizes, I really struggled to put the sequences in order to create a storyboard. In the end I sent all my imagery, animated bits and rambling explanations of what I want to say to the writer Celia Hillo. She wrote her own text based on my material. I then in my turn rewrote her text, but used her version as a structure.

I had explained to Celia how the film is about needing to accept closure without actually feeling you have got all the answers that you need, and in her text she got this exact sentiment articulated by writing it in email format, which is something I then incorporated in the final movie. It ended up giving the film a much clearer structure.

What do you love best about the final result?

I love that I allowed myself to take the time I needed to make it look the way I envisioned it and did not rush it. I’m also very happy with the structure because it was an absolute headache to get it down. I love painting, and it’s fun seeing it all come together in motion.

How do you think your style has evolved over the years?

When I started animating I didn’t think I knew how to draw so I mainly did collage animation. Then I learnt the drawing bit but could only do it by hand which made my process very slow. Now I’ve learnt to draw digitally too, which has greatly expanded my practice. I also think my painting has become more precise and detailed.

Who are your animation idols?

Although I later studied animation at Royal College of Art, I’m originally self-taught. I was studying fashion branding and had no idea about the world of independent animation when I first came across the work of Swedish animation artist Nathalie Djurberg. She was one of the main inspirations for me when first starting to learn how to animate and to this day I’m influenced by her work. Another current inspiration to me is Dash Shaw, I really like both his comics and films.

What is your take on the overall state of animation in 2024?

At least in Europe it seems that funding for independent animation keeps getting cut and harder to come by, but somehow people still keep managing to make really inspirational and creative work. With so many apps and AI auto generated animation I have found that on the counter side, there is also a growing appreciation for traditional animation that is harder to recreate automatically. That is very nice for someone like me who likes to spend my time painting.

Sweet Like Lemons is available to watch through Short of the Week and on Vimeo. Learn more about Jenny Jokela’s work at jennyjokela.com.