BABUSHKA
CLIENT
Personal Project
DURATION
6 Weeks
ROLE
Animator
DESCRIPTION
This short stop-motion film follows a young boy and the homeless woman he passes on the street each day. Set in Kraków, Poland, the story was inspired by my time in the city, and I designed the set to reflect its distinctive architecture.
Every element in the film was handcrafted from scratch, from the working street lamps and custom-made clothing to the smallest details like the doorknobs and shop signs. The characters were sculpted from clay around metal armature skeletons, but I found their faces lacked emotion. To solve this, I filmed real actors' eyes and superimposed them onto the characters in post-production—an approach that added a striking level of realism and depth to their expressions.
STOP MOTION:
Beyond animating the film, I was responsible for writing, building, filming, and editing it. For the audio, I collaborated with a composer to create a bespoke soundtrack and a sound designer to add additional effects, enhancing the overall atmosphere.
FILM FESTIVALS
After gaining significant recognition online and earning a nomination for Best Student Film at my university degree show, I decided to submit the film to various festivals. The laurels displayed on the video thumbnail represent the festivals that selected it for their screenings that year.
This was my first attempt at stop-motion animation, and without any formal training, I figured things out as I went. While the character movements weren’t perfect, the intricately built set and heartfelt narrative helped the film earn recognition at multiple film festivals.
