What would plastic waste look as ocean life? This incredible short film will show you

The problem of plastic in our oceans has been around for a while, and it’s not getting any better. But director and CG artist Pascal Schelbli reimagined plastic waste not as a part of the problem, but as a part of the ecosystem. In his short animated film, The Beauty, he creates an imaginary sea world out of plastic that will make you both amazed and sad.

“The trigger for this film was obviously our massive plastic pollution issue, which we all have to deal with these days,” Pascal writes in the statement about his short film. “But, instead of showing another mournful stomach full of plastic bags, I thought, what if plastic could be integrated into the sea life and nature solves the problem?”

“The film should take you on a journey, where all our feelings of guilt will disappear. But in the end, we wake up and realize that we need to change something.”

And indeed, this is exactly how I felt while watching. The combination of music, words, and of course the masterful visual work left me with a bittersweet feeling in my heart. At the same time, you find these plastic creatures so beautiful, but then you wake up and realize that plastic makes the oceans ugly, damaging their ecosystem.

The Beauty brought Pascal a Student Academy Award in 2020, and rightfully so. Take a look below at the making of the film and how the whole process looked like. You can see more of his work on his website and Vimeo.

[via Colossal]