Directors Magdalena Zalewska and Nikita Shestakov at MNFST.studio in London: “‘Cycle’ is our very abstract take on plastic – from its organic origins to how it is slowly becoming a part of the natural cycle.

“Made by humans to last, we question whether plastic will outlive nature itself. Our intention was to avoid the plastic cliché by creating something visually beautiful and seemingly harmless but with a twist.

“We were inspired by the fact that what later becomes plastic starts as raw material, something that exists in nature. Our goal was to loosely interpret that journey from raw material to something that has infiltrated our lives and our environments.

“One of the biggest challenges was to represent the phases of that journey: extract, refine, process, exploit, and morph. Working with Houdini allowed us creative freedom and ability.

“By introducing a gradual change of color throughout the film, we wanted to reinforce the idea of plastic slowly infiltrating the natural landscape. From blues and deep reds of underground, through white pureness and newness of human-made products, all the way to juicy greens of plastic imposters.”
 
Production: MNFST.studio
​Director/animator: Magdalena Zalewska, Nikita Shestakov
Music: Chris Banks
Toolkit: Houdini