WHEN SOMEONE YOU
LOVE IS DYING
Animated Short Pitch
A tender, animated short exploring grief and the dying process, When Someone You Love is Dying follows Sophie’s poignant journey from her father’s cancer diagnosis to his final moments. Through snapshots and reflections, the short bravely immerses itself in the raw complexities of loss, offering comfort, clarity, and compassionate advice in the face of life's inevitable truths. With intimate narration and evocative hand-drawn visuals, the film takes an empathetic yet unflinching look at what it means to lose someone.
This short is the first in the When Someone You Love Is… animated series - simple films about hard things, offering a comforting companion through life's hardest transitions.
LOGLINE
SYNOPSIS
When Someone You Love is Dying is an intimate, animated short that expands on the themes of Sophie Dupin’s book of the same name. The book is an illustrated guide that blends the emotional depth of a memoir with the practical clarity of a roadmap, offering readers an intimate yet accessible way to understand the dying process - both physically and emotionally - so they can navigate their final moments with a loved one with presence, intention, and compassion. Rather than directly adapting the book, the film stands as its own artistic expression - an emotional, visual, and narrative experience that invites viewers to engage with these themes in a different way. Told through Sophie’s eyes, the short focuses on the snapshots she captured while navigating her father’s terminal cancer from his diagnosis to his final moments.
As Sophie recounts her father’s final months, viewers are taken on a surreal yet tender journey watching a family lose someone they love. The animation blends the emotional snapshots of her experience with practical guidance on navigating those final days. It captures the complexities of the physical process of dying alongside the unspoken emotions of those left behind. From the quiet moments shared between Sophie and her father to the painful realization that time is running out, the short evokes the bittersweet realities of love, loss, and letting go.
Ultimately, When Someone You Love is Dying is more than just a film about loss - it is a guide through one of life’s most difficult transitions. By acknowledging grief with vulnerability and honesty, it reminds us that although death is inevitable, we can find solace in understanding the journey and cherishing the moments we have left with those we love.
LOOK & FEEL
The film When Someone You Love is Dying brings the book's tender black-and-white, hand-drawn illustrations and unique typography to life. It uses animation as a medium to create a new way of experiencing grief and loss in a way that goes beyond words - through imagery, movement, and emotion that create a distinct visual language. Paired with a heartfelt narration, the short becomes a deeply intimate experience, inviting viewers to reflect on grief and the dying process with comfort and understanding
TARGET AUDIENCE
When Someone You Love is Dying is for everyone. Every person will inevitably grieve a loss of life - whether it’s of a loved one or, in cases of terminal diagnoses, of their own life. But death remains one of life’s greatest unknowns. Some people process information through words, others through images, movement, or emotion. This film exists for those who seek to understand loss not only through advice, but through someone else’s experience, allowing the viewer to feel less alone. It transforms fear into knowledge, reluctance into preparedness. It's a visual experience that will resonate with anyone seeking comfort, insight, and clarity.
CHARACTERS
SERGE (THE FATHER)
ROLE The heart of the story. A brilliant yet humble artist, a loving father, and a man facing death with both humor and wisdom.
PERSONALITY: Strong, charismatic, poetic. He has an innate ability to bring humor into even the darkest moments. A master craftsman, he takes pride in his work but never boasts.
EMOTIONAL ARC: Moves from being the reassuring figure, consoling his daughters, playing along with their hope, to a man gradually surrendering to the inevitable, accepting death on his own terms.
DEFINING TRAITS
Speaks in both English and French, sometimes even swearing in both.
Doesn’t want to be remembered as a dying man in a hospital bed - he insists on showing people his woodwork to shape his own narrative.
Poetic in his final days, finding solace in spirituality, his past, and his family. movements slower. But his eyes remain lively and expressive until the end.
VISUAL NOTES: As the illness progresses, he becomes frailer, his movements slower. But his eyes remain lively and expressive until the end.
Sophie (Narrator / The Daughter)
ROLE: The daughter, storyteller, and emotional anchor of the film. She takes us through the journey of her father’s final weeks, grappling with denial, hope, and eventual acceptance.
PERSONALITY: Loving, determined, deeply emotional yet resilient. She oscillates between fighting for alternative treatments and learning to let go. A “fixer” by nature, she seeks control in the uncontrollable.
EMOTIONAL ARC: Starts as someone desperately trying to “save” her father, then shifts to someone embracing the experience of loss, realizing that being present is more powerful than fixing.
VISUAL NOTES: Expressive and deeply introspective - her animated movements may shift from frantic (early denial and searching for answers) to slow and deliberate (acceptance and presence in his final days).
Bobby & Doreen (Family Friends)
ROLE: Close friends of the family. Bobby, Serge’s best friend, is someone Serge seems to be waiting for before passing.
DEFINING MOMENT: When Bobby arrives, Serge musters a big smile, showing that even in his last moments, friendship brings him joy.
These Abstract & Symbolic Characters give the film a layered, poetic visual language that extends beyond the literal storytelling.
Claire (The Sister / Daughter)
ROLE: Serge’s other daughter and Sophie’s sister. The pragmatic caregiver. A registered nurse, she is the one who immediately accepts their father’s diagnosis and shifts into caretaker mode.
PERSONALITY: Grounded, nurturing, but at times emotionally drained. She is at times “rock” of the family, often seen handling the most practical, medical aspects of care. She has the composed demeanor of a nurse, but in small, private moments, her exhaustion and grief slip through.
DEFINING MOMENTS
Promises Serge that Sophie won’t put him on a plane for experimental treatments.
Bathes him, which can be interpreted as a spiritual act: "Lord, here is my daughter, she is washing my sins away.”
Reacts with denial in the final moments, begging Serge to “Breathe Again” even after he has passed.
FATHER DENNY (THE PRIEST)
ROLE: A calming presence in Serge’s final days. His presence gives Serge peace when fear begins to creep in.
DEFINING MOMENT: Pronounces Serge’s name perfectly in a French accent, making Serge feel seen and comforted in a profound way.
ABSTRACT & SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS
DEATH
ROLE: Death takes many forms - sometimes sudden, sometimes harsh - but for Serge, it is patient, quiet, and inevitable. It does not come as an enemy, but as a delivery into something beyond. His death is not an abrupt end but a merging, a return to the world, to the things he loved, to nature itself.
For Serge, death is not just a departure, it is a Reverse Birth. The rain that has been falling throughout his final hours is more than a backdrop; it is a womb, a carrier, a guide. As he takes his final breath, he is not leaving - he is being lifted, carried, and absorbed into something greater.
DEFINING MOMENTS
The Rain as a Presence: The rain has been falling the entire time Serge is dying. At first gentle, then steady, then the rain grows slightly more intense, like a quiet rhythm accompanying his final journey on earth.
Serge’s Spirit Joins the Rain: When Serge takes his final breath, the rain does not stop. As he exhales for the last time, his breath doesn’t just fade, it rises, swirling into the air, dissolving into the falling rain. The droplets catch the light, carrying fragments of his reflection - his essence.
The Final Dissolve: After he passes, the rain becomes softer, lighter, no longer just a backdrop, but a carrier of something more. Serge is now part of the rhythm of the world, moving between sky and earth.
GRIEF
ROLE: Grief exists before, during, and after death. It takes different forms - anticipatory grief, active grief, and quiet grief. It doesn’t follow logic, and it arrives in waves.
DEFINING MOMENTS
When Sophie first sees Serge after his diagnosis, Grief is distant, a shadow lurking in the background.
When Serge stops walking and needs a wheelchair, Grief gets heavier.
After death, Grief lingers in empty spaces…the chair where Serge once sat, the woodshop left untouched, the absence in their home.
Leslie (The Wife / Mother)
ROLE: The wife losing the love of her life. She represents avoidance, staying busy with emails, errands, and tasks as a way of not confronting the loss head-on.
PERSONALITY: Spirited, loving, but emotionally overwhelmed. She retreats into denial, struggling to sit beside Serge as he nears death.
EMOTIONAL ARC Avoids the reality of his condition for as long as possible, until the final day, when Sophie and Claire convince her to sit with him. It is then that she fully acknowledges the moment.
DEFINING MOMEMENTS
Asks Serge if he will speak to her after he’s gone. He reassures her: "Oh my God, YES."
Avoids sitting at his bedside until the very end, when she finally lets go and tells him: "Go, Serge. You can go."
HEIDI (HOSPICE NURSE)
ROLE: The practical, professional guide who keeps the family grounded in reality.
DEFINING MOMENT: When Sophie asks, “How long does he have? Hours? Days?” she tells them bluntly: "I’d be surprised if he made it through the night."
TIME
ROLE: Time is fluid and unpredictable in grief. It speeds up, slows down, and warps reality. Time isn’t just a force in the story, it’s a presence. It shapes how Sophie and her family experience their father’s final weeks, making some moments unbearable and others slip away too quickly.
DEFINING MOMENTS
In the early days after the diagnosis, Time moves erratically, scenes shift like flickering pages in a book, moments bleeding into one another.
During caregiving moments, Time slows painfully, every small act (lifting Serge, shaving him, repositioning him) feels stretched out, while days vanish without warning.
When Serge is actively dying, Time becomes both incredibly slow and impossibly fast, the clock is both the enemy and the only thing left holding them together.
At the moment of death, Time pauses completely, everything holds still as if the world itself is absorbing the loss.
Visual Notes: The idea that hours felt slow while days disappeared quickly could be visualized as clocks morphing, stretching, or shifting unpredictably.
ANIMATED SERIES
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ANIMATED SERIES 〰️
SIMPLE FILMS ABOUT HARD THINGS
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SIMPLE FILMS ABOUT HARD THINGS 〰️
The
When Some You Love Is..…ANIMATED SHORT SERIES
SIMPLE FILMS ABOUT HARD THINGS
When Someone You Love is Dying is just the beginning of a series of animated shorts called When Someone You Love Is… Through the same tender, honest lens, each short delves into the tough, often unspoken parts of the human experience. These films will tackle the hard things - the moments we often shy away from but know we must face, offering comfort, insight, and practical advice. Whether it’s the heart-wrenching process of watching someone you love battle Alzheimer’s, the painful grip of addiction, the complex journey of living with autism, or the deep sorrow of miscarriage, each film will be told through a voice that is not only the wisest, but also the most humble and compassionate in the room.
Each film will carry the same hand-drawn aesthetic and emotionally-driven storytelling, ensuring that while each topic is unique, the film experience feels cohesive. These films will also blend real-life, anecdotal moments with practical advice, allowing for a more personal connection with the audience while still offering useful insight into each specific experience. With warmth and vulnerability, the series will address life’s toughest transitions, showing that even the most difficult topics can be navigated with care and clarity.
The When Someone You Love Is… series will create a space for dialogue, connection, and healing, offering a reminder that no one has to face life’s challenges alone. It will encourage honest conversations, break down emotional barriers, and help normalize the difficult experiences we all encounter. In doing so, When Someone You Love Is… becomes not just a series, but a companion, giving us the courage to face life’s complexities with an open heart - one short film at a time.
WORDS FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Visitor,
I was 27 when my dad was given three months to live. There was nothing more the doctors could do. He was terminal. Six weeks later, he died right in front of me. Along with my mom and my sister, I held his hand as he took his last breaths in the house we grew up in.
As a society, we don’t like to talk about death. As individuals, we are so afraid of death, yet it’s the last thing we all must do on this earth. And we certainly don’t like getting into the details of what really happens when a person’s body starts to shut down.
Watching a loved one die is an excruciating and impossible task for a family. I believe knowledge is power, and maybe it would be a little easier if we understood what was going on just a little more. If this short can compassionately navigate people through the hard truths about death and losing a loved one, then it has done its job.
When Someone You Love is Dying is the film I wish I had when I was losing my father - not necessarily as a translation of advice, but as an emotional companion, something that could hold space for grief in a different way. Some people find clarity in words, others in visuals, in movement, in art. I hope it offers comfort to those going through something similar, helping them make the most of their time left with their loved one. When we have a better understanding of what is happening, we feel less alone, can be more present, and leave fewer words unsaid.
It is surreal to have the chance to get this film made. Even if we don’t find a partnership in this experience, I hope that you walk away with a deeper understanding of death and grief and how to face this journey that we all inevitably embark upon. Above all, I hope it brings you peace.
Best,
Sophie
OTHER HELPFUL LINKS
SCHEDULE & BUDGET
VINCENT & KAY PRODUCTIONS
Animation, documentary & drama
Vincent & Kay are dedicated to acquiring, developing, and producing thoughtful animation, documentary, and drama properties. With decades of experience in production planning and management, we strive to bring compelling stories to life.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
(503) 791-3559