Creators of Memoir of a Snail, Academy Award winning Writer and Director Adam Elliot and Producer Liz Kearney, share their unique experiences making their adult stop‑motion animation film in Melbourne.
Having laboured over Memoir of a Snail for eight years – including 32 weeks of production and 16 weeks of post-production – Elliot and Kearney shed a light on the challenges of financing stop-motion animation films for adults, and the importance of supporting this niche format of filmmaking.
This film’s protagonist Grace Puddle, voiced by Emmy Award-winning Sarah Snook (Succession), grapples with the psychology of hoarding. “The film deals with broader themes of loneliness, melancholy, trauma, and loss,” Elliot says, “But I certainly want there to be lots of humour in my films; I want a lot of poignancy and subject matter that you wouldn’t normally see in an animated film.”
“Even though my films are animated,” Elliot continues, “They’re really not for kids. They’re for teenagers and upwards because they deal with very challenging subject matter. And that’s with all my films, going back to Harvie Krumpet. Harvie had Alzheimer’s disease and Tourette’s Syndrome, so I’ve never shied away from creating characters that are very believable and real.”
This film would not have been possible without the financial incentives and rebates facilitated by VicScreen, Kearney explains. “We were trying to develop and finance this film during Covid, and VicScreen really helped us keep it going when no one wanted to hear from us.”
“I was shocked with how much harder it was as a pitch to try and get investors given Adam had won an Oscar, and Mary & Max had been quite successful and opened Sundance. But for us, financing this film was potentially the hardest project I’ve ever had to try and raise the money for. So VicScreen have been a key partner in making Memoir of a Snail possible, and we’re just so happy to have such amazing support in this State.”
Memoir of a Snail incorporated more than 5,000 individual clay sculptures, meticulously handcrafted in Melbourne. The film may have taken almost a decade to complete but has since had 20 award nominations and 10 wins including the top prize at Annecy International Animation Film Festival (making Elliot the first two-time winner of this prestigious award) and Best Film at BFI London Film Festival – a first for a stop-motion film. Memoir of a Snail made its Australian premiere to its home-audience at Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2024.
Memoir of a Snail is currently playing at select cinemas across the United States and is being distributed by IFC as one of their offerings for the upcoming awards season.
If you have a stop-motion project or another innovative production in development, learn more about bringing your vision to life in Melbourne, Victoria. Explore VicScreen’s competitive financial incentives by contacting VicScreen’s Head of Incentives, Joe Brinkmann, at [email protected] or visit vicscreen.vic.gov.au