In a garage somewhere in Folkestone in Kent, a grey squirrel named Dot begins to move, blinking and stumbling forward as she comes to life. Dot looks around an impenetrable, foreboding forest, rife with do-it-yourself artistry. A human hand reaches over to adjust her fabric-covered arms just so. The hand belongs to Astrid Goldsmith, an animator whose short film, Squirrel Island, caught my attention at the London Short Film Festival earlier this year. It’s a remarkable dialogue-less effort with an incredible sense of handmade aesthetic, dark humor and perilous narrative thrust. I sat down with Ms. Goldsmith to discuss her movie, from her first screening with Laika Studios to where she plans to take her career next.