In a desperate attempt to bring his wife back to life, scientist creates a mindless moving body. Now, falling deeper and deeper into despair, he will do everything he can to revive her consciousness as well. All until a glimmer of hope appears too late
(Mixed-Media Animation) Writer – Director – Animator
(About the project)It’s about the emotional aftermath, the quiet ache of trying to hold on to something already fading
Folding Daisies is a mixed-media short film about love, loss and the thin line between devotion and self-destruction. Through a fusion of animation styles, it explores how grief consumes, turning care into obsession and memory into a ghost. The film reflects on what remains of a person once they’re gone, and what remains of us when we cannot let go While rooted in fiction, the film draws from a personal place. It was inspired by my own experience of trying to help someone I loved through a prolonged mental health struggle, watching them fade despite everything. This film became a way to turn helplessness and grief and transform it into something visual and visceral
“Folding Daisies” poster
(Behind The Scenes)The animation blends 3D, 2D, and live-action into a single visual language, each medium representing a different state of existence:
Folding Daisies was created with a small team of student collaborators, no budget whatsoever, and a lot of heart. As a director, an animator and a storyteller, I wanted to make something intimate and honest, even if dressed in the language of science fiction and surrealismThe past appears through real photos and videos, grounding their happiness in tangible reality. The present world is fully 3D, reflecting the dreamlike, sterile emptiness of his life without her. The wife rendered in stylized 2D with a lower frame rate, glitches between frames and exists between worlds, neither fully alive nor truly gone
(Production Process)The original soundtrack, composed by Said, combines melancholic electronic tones, acoustic textures and lo-fi effects with bursts of distorted guitar, echoing the emotional narrative
Created as my SVA Master’s graduation project, it was developed over seven months of COVID isolation, combining experimentation and passion. At first the animatic was shot with live actors to capture natural performances. I handled production using ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter, After Effects and Premiere, even hand-animating 2D parts on a laptop touchpad The title “Folding Daisies” plays on both the act of folding origami flowers and the phrase “pushing up daisies,” symbolizing the blurred line between life and death, and the heartbreak of holding on to someone already gone. It is both speculative and deeply personal meditation on grief, memory and the unbearable weight of letting go
(Acknowledgements)Produced during the MFA, Computer Arts programme at School of Visual Arts, New York
With thanks to SVA advisors, the animation crew, cast and tutors for their support throughout development, production and post-production.
Writer / Director / Editor: Vladimir Zhdanov,
Acting: Anastasiia Kudrina – Wife, Stepan Dorodnykh – Husband,
Post-Production by: Vladimir Zhdanov
Additional Animations by: Ash Kim Choi, Natalia Mikhalycheva, Lina Kilevaya
Thesis Advisor: Terreence Masson
Thesis Instructor: Trilby Schreiber
Music Composer: Said Bazhaev