“The Caterpillar Girl” is my graduation project for the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam. It highlights the themes of suppressed identity and struggling to be yourself. I reference the story of my own upbringing, as well as the interviews with other Easter-European women who emigrated from my home country of Belarus. The short film explores the topics of stereotypical representation of women in my society and the desire to leave your "cocoon" in order to transform into the truest version of yourself.

The short story follows various girls who live in their cocoons of self-doubt, judgment, oppression, and shame. When the butterflies enter their worlds, the girls follow them on their way to metamorphosis and a new future. I was inspired by the story of my friends, blended with my own story of leaving Belarus and trying to build a new self in a society different from my own. "The Caterpillar Girl" is a sensitive, non-linear animation that focuses on the feeling of girlhood, nostalgia, and hope.

"The Caterpillar Girl" was featured on It's Nice That (2021), Creative Boom (2021), Girls In Film (2021), Polyester zine (2022), and was selected for several animation & film festivals like Pictoplasma (2022), Imagine Film Festival (2022), Trickfilm Festival (2022) and Short to the Point (2022)