BA (Hons) Animation final year student Isolda Milenkovic at the culmination of her degree, presents her grad film ‘Vasilisa’.
'Vasilisa' is a short experimental film inspired by the slavic folk tale of 'Vasilisa the Fair' - exploring the themes of cultural and personal identity, womanhood, and journeys of the self - through multi-media experimental animation.
"I created the film 'Vasilisa' largely out of my love and fascination for this folk story that is relatively unknown here in the UK but that I think is very beautiful and very powerful. Unlike many folk stories where women are often relegated to the 'damsel in distress' role, all of the agents is the story, good and bad, are women. The characters of the story can also all be read as facets of the self and the psyche, because of this I found myself drawn very strongly to creating an adaptation that expresses the themes and symbolism that can be found beneath the surface of this story, in the most fitting way that I could, by combining multiple animation techniques and live action aspects, to reflect this multifaceted tale.
It also felt right to end my time studying Animation with a project that allowed me to reflect my love for all of these different forms that animation can take and that I learned to work in and appreciate in my time here, that I find to each be wonderful in their own right."
- Isolda Milenkovic
