Waste Away, a film by Elly Stern
A surreal stop motion short about a homeless woman who becomes pregnant with a fish in a trash-filled city. The responsibility of motherhood gives her the strength to fight for survival, while the forces of nature threaten to overtake her. The setting of urban neglect emphasizes the pervasive alienation between people, and humanity’s destructive impact on their environment.
Credits
Musical score by Daniel Hass
Sound design by Elly Stern
Sound mix by Kyle Jones
Advising by Jake Fried
Produced at Massachusetts College of Art & Design
Release date: 2020
Country: Canada
Duration: 5 min
Production notes
When we asked more about how the found-object-filled piece was created, she told us, “My film was executed with a mix of stop motion and digital compositing in After Effects. Some of my shots were made completely in-camera, like the alleyway scenes, some were in-camera with green screen keying in post-production, like the beach scenes, and some were more heavily digitally composited from multiple stop motion elements, like the underwater scenes.
Awards
Jury’s Citation Award: The Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival / USA / 2021
Best International Animation: Cinemaway / Ukraine / 2020
Best Animated Short: Independent Shorts Awards / USA / 2020
Best Student Film: Venice Shorts Festival / USA / 2020
Outstanding Achievement Award (Animated Short): Indie Short Fest / USA / 2020
Programmers’ Pick / NFFTY / USA / 2020
Semi Finalist: LA Femme International Film Festival / USA / 2020
Finalist: JellyFEST Film Festival / USA / 2021
Biography
Elly Stern is a mixed media animator with a BFA in Animation from Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston. She spent her childhood in Tel Aviv and her adolescence in Toronto, and she is currently living in Vancouver and working for Spotted Fawn Productions. During her artistic journey, she has developed a passion for stop motion and experimental filmmaking, specializing in mixed media narratives.
Drawing inspiration from her vivid subconscious, Elly seeks to decode the workings of our inner worlds and bodies, and translate them into surreal environments. Her films delve into issues of female psychology and physicality, and the humor that underlies our somber reality. Utilizing a handmade approach and cinematic lighting, her animations explore the grittier, darker aspects of our existence.