IFC Films‘ Memoir of a Snail, nominated in what’s shaped up to be among the most competitive categories of this Academy Awards, is back in more than 500 theaters nationwide Tuesday night.
The one night of screenings of the Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee will include a prerecorded Q&A with the filmmaker Adam Elliot and fellow Australian director George Miller (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga). Presenting theaters include AMC, Regal, Alamo Drafthouse, Harkins, Laemmle, City Cinemas, Look Cinemas and National Amusements.
“We’re so glad adult audiences continue to discover Adam Elliot’s impeccably crafted, heartfelt story,” said Scott Shooman, head of AMC Networks’ film group. “The film’s sophisticated themes of religion, seeking acceptance, and remaining hopeful amid life’s tougher times are tremendously relevant in this current climate.”
The film first opened October 25 and has grossed $627,000 domestically ($1.8 million worldwide). It’s a tough Oscar path up against Flow, the phenomenon by Latvian director Gints Zimbalodis; Universal’s acclaimed The Wild Robot; Disney’s Inside Out 2; and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl from Netflix.
See Deadline Contenders interview with Elliot, the writer-director behind the Academy Award-winning 2004 short Harvie Krumpet and 2009 stop-motion Mary And Max – also distributed by IFC.
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Memoir of a Snail premiered at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, where it won the top prize, doing the same at the London BFI Film Festival.
It’s the first lead voice role for star Sarah Snook (Succession) as Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love of romance novels. At a young age, when she’s separated from her twin brother, 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. As she slowly learns to let go of the clutter in her home and her mind, Grace starts to find her confidence and the courage to love again. So this is animated but not for kids.
Also starring Eric Bana, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jacki Weaver. Produced by Elliot and Liz Kearney and exec produced by Robert Connolly and Robert Patterson.