IFC Films has announced the U.S. release date for Oscar-winning director Adam Elliott’s animated feature “Memoir of a Snail.” The stop-motion adult drama took nearly a decade to create and will open in limited release on October 25, with a wider release throughout November.
The film follows the life of Grace Buddle, a lonely outcast girl with a passion for collecting decorative snails and a deep love of romance novels. Her life takes a downward spiral when she is separated from her twin brother at a young age. Despite the ongoing hardships, Grace perseveres and finds inspiration through her friendship with Pinky, an eccentric elderly woman, as she slowly learns to find trust and love.
Memoir of a Snail is Elliott's second feature film, following his critically acclaimed Mary and Max (2009), which premiered at Sundance. Elliott wrote and directed this moving animated film, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short for Harvie Krumpet (2003), and features the voice talents of Emmy Award winner Sarah Snook (“Succession”), Academy Award nominees Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) and Jacki Weaver (“Animal Kingdom”), as well as acclaimed stars Eric Bana (“Munich”) and musician and composer Nick Cave.
The film premiered in June at the Annecy Film Festival, where it received positive reviews and won the top prize, the Cristal Award for Best Film. Elliott became the first two-time winner of the prestigious award.
Peter Debruge, Varieties Chief US film critic John Kerry praised the film's dark and surprisingly poignant narrative style, writing: “Like Edward Gorey, his palette is almost monochromatic; his characters lean toward the camera, Wes Anderson-style, as if posing for a grim school photo; and his John Waters-like humor is unconventional enough to encompass everything from disabilities to bizarre sexual perversions.”
Using humor, heart, and meticulous attention to detail in building his world, Elliott and his stellar voice cast deliver a vivid portrayal of an outsider finding his confidence.
Produced in collaboration with Liz Kearney and featuring a beautiful score by Elena Katz-Chernin, The Snail Diaries is among several films being presented by IFC Films for the upcoming awards season, including the international film The Devil’s Bath under its Shudder label, which aims to represent Austria at the upcoming Academy Awards.
