Hello Reader 👋

These are my last days here. In just two days, I’ll be at the airport, bags packed with gifts and souvenirs for family and friends. It’s hard to put into words what these two months have been — but if you ever get the chance, I truly encourage you to grab a plane ticket and try working remotely from a place like Bali. 🌴

If you’re solo, life here is incredibly easy and affordable. If you’re with family, it’s a little more costly, but still manageable — and the experience is worth every bit. The rhythm of this island changes you. It slows you down, sharpens your senses, and makes space for ideas to grow.

And I can’t wait to carry that energy back with me. Animator NOW has reached a point where it’s simply too big, too complex to run without structure. Back in the day, I had the idea of starting a YouTube channel — and I even created a dashboard in Notion to manage it. That channel never happened, but Animator NOW took its place. And now, I find myself returning to that same dashboard idea, this time to keep track of all the moving parts: the newsletter, the podcast, the courses, the community, and everything in between.

For that, Notion has become my home base. If you’ve never used it, imagine Google Sheets — but alive, flexible, and infinitely customizable. And paired with Claude, it becomes even more powerful. I can dictate anything I want, and Claude will create it directly inside Notion without me opening a single tab. That’s the real promise of AI — not just chatting, but doing.

When I land back in France, there’ll be a week of transition — settling into a new apartment for six months. In December and January, work will be done on my house, and once it’s ready, that’s where we’ll move. And that’s where I’ll finally be able to create the best studio I’ve ever had for Animator NOW. I already have a pretty dense mood board on Pinterest and Freeform, full of references for furniture, materials, atmosphere, and the overall feel I want the studio to embody. And honestly, I’m buzzing with excitement.

But for now, I’m still here — walking through Tanah Lot near Canggu, buying last souvenirs, enjoying one last day before the airport. ✈️

I hope your summer has been kind to you. Whether you’re heading back to school or back to work, stay strong, stay foolish, stay hungry, stay motivated. Keep chasing your dreams.

See you next week from France.

Okay, I told you last week you wouldn’t have to wait long for another Anna Mantzaris film. Well… here it is. But Milk is Important is one of those shorts that stuck with me the moment I saw it — raw, imperfect, and all the more beautiful because of it.

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It’s a little rougher around the edges compared to her later works, probably a smaller budget, but that’s exactly what I love about it. You can see the craft — the glue, the seams, the tiny movements that shouldn’t move at all. And rather than being a flaw, it feels like a strength. It reminds me of flipping through old Disney archives, watching rough 2D sketches come alive. That moment when you see the magic of animation, unpolished and unapologetic. Stop-motion does this better than any medium: it lets you see the hands of the artist.

The story is just as powerful. It follows a man crippled by social anxiety, locked inside his apartment until an odd, puffy imaginary companion nudges him toward connection — toward his neighbors, toward life. I’ve always loved these narratives where invisible guides appear, helping the protagonist step beyond fear and into a richer, more human world.

And yes, milk is part of it. The whole thing begins with a simple, everyday need — just wanting milk, just going out for groceries. That small, ordinary excuse becomes the spark for change. Somehow, it makes the whole film feel even more tender, more real.

Funny, emotional, a little awkward, and deeply human — this is one you shouldn’t miss. 😊

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