The House of Knots
The House of Knots is a stop-motion short film and tactile design project that explores childhood memory, emotional repression, and the quiet process of healing. It follows Allie, a girl who copes with family conflict and emotional isolation by tying knots—each one symbolizing a moment of fear, confusion, or grief. The narrative unfolds as Allie encounters a living cloth doll and journeys into a surreal house made entirely of knots, where she meets her adult self and learns to slowly let go.
The project blends live-action scenes with handmade stop-motion animation, poetic narration, and layered sound design. Inspired by Tim Burton’s gothic sensibility, David Lynch’s surreal atmosphere, and the symbolic logic of Quipu (an Andean knot-based record system), The House of Knots transforms knots into metaphors for emotional memory.
It is aimed at audiences engaged with mental health, art therapy, and affective design—those who are drawn to emotionally resonant, symbolic, and immersive storytelling. It functions as a soft, reflective tool: a nonverbal space where viewers are encouraged to process inner tension through atmosphere and metaphor. In this way, the project shows how storytelling and material form can work together to support emotional resilience and personal reflection.