Early 20th-century Montreal became the locale for the recently Oscar-winning stop-motion film 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls' by  Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, now released online from its National Film Board of Canada production studio

The 17-minute puppet film is another collaboration by the twice Oscar-nominated duo (their first nomination came with another stop-motion film, the 2007 'Madame Tutli-Putli'. 

A poor boy falls in love with a girl whose sorrow turns into pearls. He sells them to a ruthless pawnbroker, who hungers for more. Tempted by greed, the boy must choose between love and fortune. The choice could damn his soul - Film Synopsis

The film used mockups of sets rehearsed with actors; the entire script was then filmed from multiple angles. Puppets only talk in the present part of the film; incidents in the past are narrated (Colin Feore narrates the English version), while puppets have fixed mouth expressions -but emote through gesture and pantomime.

Here's an interview with the film's directors:

The score is by Patrick Watson, in a moral fable of greediness vs. love.

Watch 'The Girl Who Cried Pearls' 

 (France, Germany, Spain, and Andorra territories excluded)