Waste Away – A Surreal Stop-Motion Portrait of Survival by Elly Stern
In the haunting and visually arresting short film Waste Away, filmmaker and animator Elly Stern transforms discarded objects, urban decay, and a single mysterious fish into a powerful meditation on survival, motherhood, and humanity’s fractured relationship with nature. Created as her BFA thesis project at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Stern’s film took nearly ten months to complete and quickly gained recognition across the international festival circuit after premiering on NoBudge in June 2020.
Set in a trash-filled, crumbling cityscape, Waste Away follows a homeless woman whose life takes a surreal and unexpected turn when she becomes pregnant with a fish. What initially appears strange or fantastical gradually reveals itself to be a poignant metaphor: that life persists even in the most neglected places, and that nature’s presence — however fragile — has the power to ignite a sense of responsibility and resilience in those who have been pushed to society’s margins. As the woman navigates the decayed urban world around her, the film paints a portrait of environmental collapse intertwined with profound human isolation.
The origins of Waste Away trace back to a single vivid image that appeared in Stern’s mind: a homeless woman discovering a live fish inside her belly. This unsettling but poetic vision sparked the development of the film’s narrative and its blend of surrealism and emotional realism. Much of the visual language of the film draws from Tel Aviv, the city where Stern grew up. Its claustrophobic alleys, tangled wires, concrete surfaces, and stacked air-conditioners form a backdrop that feels both intensely specific and universally recognizable. The environment becomes a character of its own — oppressive, decaying, yet filled with flickers of discarded potential.
One of the most striking aspects of Waste Away is the film’s physical construction. Stern built nearly every prop and set piece from found objects, garbage, and recycled materials, creating an aesthetic that reflects the film’s themes in a literal, tactile form. Dumpsters were fabricated from scrap cardboard, bodies of water were formed using plastic wrap, and a bicycle was cleverly assembled from discarded plastic cutlery. Even the largest set — an alleyway roughly 32 inches by 80 inches — relies on forced perspective and layered detail to conjure the illusion of a vast, suffocating city within a confined space. It is a world born from waste, and that world feels shockingly alive.
The animation itself blends traditional stop-motion techniques with modern digital tools. While many scenes were captured fully in-camera, others involved green-screen elements or more extensive compositing in After Effects. These hybrid methods allowed Stern to build complex shots without sacrificing the handmade authenticity of her characters and sets. Production of the film was also shaped by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced Stern to complete the latter stages of the project remotely after a sudden campus shutdown. The urgency of that period lends the film an additional layer of real-world pressure — a reminder of how the creative process bends under crisis yet continues forward.
Sound design plays an equally important role in the film’s atmosphere. The score, composed by Daniel Hass, merges with Stern’s own sound design to build a world filled with the hum of urban machinery, environmental rumblings, and subtle organic textures. The sound mix by Kyle Jones adds clarity and emotional weight, helping the surreal events of the story blend seamlessly with the gritty realism of the setting.
After its release, Waste Away quickly garnered significant attention from film festivals. It earned multiple awards, including Best Animated Short at the Independent Shorts Awards, Best Student Film at the Venice Shorts Festival, Best International Animation at Cinemaway, and several jury recognitions from festivals across North America and Europe. The film was also selected as a Programmer’s Pick at NFFTY and received a Jury’s Citation Award from the Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival. For a student project, its reach and reception are remarkable — a testament to the film’s powerful visual storytelling and thematic depth.
Waste Away stands as a memorable example of how stop-motion animation can push into unexpected emotional and conceptual territory. With its mixture of recycled materials, surreal imagery, and thoughtful commentary on human neglect and environmental decline, Elly Stern’s film reminds us that beauty can emerge from the most overlooked places. It is a story of rebirth born from debris — a reminder that even in a world built from waste, life still finds a way forward.
