Adam Elliot grew up on a shrimp farm in southern Australia and went on to study at Victorian College of the Arts, where he began a trilogy of award-winning short films, Uncle (1996), Cousin (1999), and Brother (2000). His other shorts include Harvie Krumpet (2003), for which he won a Best Animated Short Oscar® and Ernie Biscuit (2015). He made his feature debut with Mary and Max (2009), winner of a Crystal Bear Special Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival, an Australian Directors Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film, and the Cristal Award for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. For his latest feature, Memoir of a Snail, Elliot becomes the first animation director to receive an MVFF Award.
Memoir of a Snail:
Director Adam Elliot’s exquisitely crafted, beautifully scripted stop-motion animation geared to an adult audience is a basket of wonders, from Elena Kats-Chernin’s brilliant musical score to the voiceover talents of Australian luminaries Sarah Snook (Succession), Eric Bana (Full Frontal), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog, MVFF44). It’s Australia, 1970s. Life is no bowl of cherries for young Grace Pudel and her twin brother Gilbert. Bullied at school, Grace imagines growing a shell, curling her soft center into a ball of protection—just like her beloved pet snail, Sylvia. After their street musician dad dies in a busking accident, Grace is left alone when the twins are shunted off to separate parts of the continent. Enter Pinkie, an ebullient, cigar smoking octogenarian whose colorful past includes stints as an exotic dancer in a schnitzel bar, pingpong matches with Fidel Castro, and now, a leading role in Grace’s life as her first human friend. Whimsical, irreverent, totally charming. And: unforgettably sub(s)lime!
