Madman Entertainment has announced that acclaimed Australian filmmaker Adam Elliot will take part in Q&A events around Australia ahead of the release of his latest film, Memoir of a Snail, in October.
The film, starring Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski, Dominique Pinon and Jacki Weaver, was the opening night film of the 2024 Melbourne International Film Festival and is Adam Elliot’s first feature film since the release of Mary and Max in 2009.
In her 4.5 star review for ScreenHub, Rochelle Siemienowicz wrote:
‘Every single frame of Adam Elliot’s gorgeous, life-affirming Claymation feature Memoir of a Snail is handmade. Each shot bears the wonky, wonderful thumb-print of a human being. As Elliot told the audience before last night’s Opening Gala screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival, there’s not one bit of CGI in the whole 94 minutes. Every prop, sets and character is a tangible, miniature object, made by a team of Australian sculptors and artists (paid award rates) and brought to life in a painstaking 33-week stop motion shoot at Melbourne’s Dockland Studios.
‘But does all this matter? Is the film itself a pleasure to sit through? The short answer is, yes, absolutely. But all that ‘making of’ meta-detail matters too, because Memoir of a Snail (which recently won the Annecy Film Festival Cristal Award for Best Feature) is an important film for the Australian screen industry and a reminder of why it is that we continue to fund, support and protect it: for the human beings, of course. To have our own culture.’
As per the film’s blurb, supplied by Madman:
‘Grace Pudel is a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love for books. At a young age, when Grace is separated from her fire-breathing twin brother Gilbert, she falls into a spiral of anxiety and angst. Despite a continued series of hardships, inspiration and hope emerge when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman named Pinky, who is full of grit and lust for life. Memoir of a Snail is a poignant, heartfelt and hilarious chronicle of the life of an outsider finding her confidence and silver linings amongst the clutter of everyday life.’
Memoir of a Snail: Q&A details
Sydney
Saturday 28 September Dendy Newtown 6.30pm.
Sunday 29 September Palace Norton Street 2pm.
Randwick Ritz 3.15pm Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace 6pm.
Canberra
Tuesday 1 October Palace Electric 6.30pm.
Dendy Canberra 7.30pm.
Brisbane
Wednesday 2 October Palace Barracks 6.30pm.
Palace James Street 7.30pm.
Perth
Wednesday 2 October Luna Leederville – Virtual Q&A 6.30pm.
Melbourne
Friday 4 October Cinema Nova 6.30pm.
Saturday 5 October Palace Como 2pm.
Classic Cinemas 3pm Sun Theatre Yarraville 4.20pm.
Hobart
Sunday 6 October State Theatre 2pm.
Adelaide
Sunday 6 October Palace Nova Eastend – Virtual Q&A 3pm.
Memoir of a Snail is released in cinemas on 17 October.
