IFC Films to Release Annecy Winner ‘Memoir of a Snail’ in the U.S.

The U.S. release date for Adam Elliot’s animated movie “Memoir of a Snail,” which won an Academy Award, has been revealed by IFC Films. After almost ten years of development, this endearing adult stop-motion drama will debut on October 25 in a limited theater before going worldwide in November.

The movie centers on the lives of Grace Puddle, an outcast who loves romance books and has a fascination for collecting ornamental snails. Her early separation from her twin brother causes her life to spiral out of control. Grace endures constant adversity and finds inspiration in her friendship with the quirky, elderly Pinky as she gradually gains self-assurance and love.

“Memoir of a Snail” is Elliot’s second stop-motion feature after the critically acclaimed “Mary and Max” (2009), which debuted at Sundance. An Oscar winner for best animated short for “Harvie Krumpet” (2003), Elliot writes and directs this heartfelt animated film that features the voices of Emmy winner Sarah Snook (“Succession”), Oscar nominees Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) and Jacki Weaver (“Animal Kingdom”), as well as acclaimed actors Eric Bana (“Munich”) and musician/composer Nick Cave.

The film made its premiere at the Annecy Film Festival in June, where it was well-received and took home the top prize, the Cristal Award for best feature, making Elliot the first to win this prestigious award twice.

Peter Debruge, Variety’s chief film critic, praised the movie’s “dark and surprisingly moving brand of storytelling,” writing: “Like Edward Gorey’s, his palette is nearly monochromatic; his characters tend to face the camera, à la Wes Anderson, as if posing for gloomy school photos; and his John Waters-esque humor is irreverent enough to encompass everything from disabilities to weird sexual kinks.”

With humor, heart, and meticulous attention to detail in building her world, Elliot and his exceptional voice deliver a vivid portrait of an outsider who learns to believe in himself.

Co-produced with Liz Kearney, the film also features a beautiful music by Elena Kats-Chernin. “Memoir of a Snail” is one of several offerings from IFC Films for the upcoming Academy Awards season, which also includes “The Devil’s Bath,” a Shudder-branded international feature film that will represent Austria at the next Oscars.