Adam Elliot’s acclaimed stop-motion feature Memoir of a Snail was awarded the top prize at BFI’s prestigious London Film Festival on Sunday. The film, which also won the Best Animated Cristal at the Annecy Festival in June, tells the emotionally powerful tale of two separated twins dealing with the adversities of life in a small town. This marks the first time a stop-motion film was given the top prize at the festival. In 2007, Marjane Satrapi’s 2D-animated feature Persepolis also won the the grand prize.
The jury, which was led by Alexandre O. Philippe, said, “Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which is a singular achievement in filmmaking. Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”
Elliot said: “To win best film among such incredible films from around the world shows that stop-motion animation is alive and well and is not a genre but a wonderful medium and vehicle to tell potent and universal stories that can make audiences both laugh and cry.”
The voice cast is led by Sarah Snook (Succession, Koala Man) as Grace, Eric Bana (Dirty John, Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers) as James the Magistrate, Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook, Back to the Outback) as Pinky and Kodi Smit-McPhee (X-Men films, ParaNorman) as Gilbert Pudel. IFC Films will release the movie in the U.S. on Oct. 25.
The writer-director who also directed the 2009 feature Mary and Max won an Oscar in 2004 for his short Harvie Krumpet. This recent award increases the chances of the movie also being nominated in the Best Animated Feature Oscar race this year. You can read our interview with the brilliant director here.
Source: The Guardian
