Paris-based sales and production company Charades and London-based production and financing studio Anton are partnering on the worldwide sales of Oscar-winning Australian director Adam Elliot’s upcoming stop-motion drama Memoir Of A Snail.
The poignant tale of a young lonely misfit is the second feature after the award-winning 2019 animation Mary And Max for Elliot, who won an Oscar for the 2004 short Harvey Krumpet.
The partners have unveiled a first image as well as some first members of international voice cast featuring Jacki Weaver (Yellowstone), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Elvis), Dominique Pinon (Cassandre, Bigbug), Magda Szubanski (Kath & Kim, Happy Feet), and Eric Bana (The Dry).
The lead cast has yet to be announced.
The animated feature is produced by Arenamedia, with Liz Kearney (Paper Planes) as producer, and Robert Connolly (The Dry) and Robert Patterson as Executive Producers.
The film is currently shooting in Melbourne, Australia, with an expected release date in 2024. Madman Entertainment will handle distribution in Australia and New Zealand
Set in 1970’s Australia, Memoir of a Snail is described as a “poignant yet hilarious memoir” about a lonely misfit called Grace Puddle who hoards ornamental snails and is addicted to romance novels.
When her family unit is ripped apart and she’s separated from her twin brother, she finds herself in a spiral of anxiety and depression until her life is filled with colour and hope again when she strikes up an enduring friendship with an elderly eccentric woman called Pinky.
“After such a long and intense writing process my team and I are now immersed in the magical process of breathing life into inanimate blobs of clay. Inspired by several people in my life, I hope Memoir of a Snail will be a potent and nourishing cinematic experience that will both tickle your funny bone and bring a tear to your eye,” said Elliot.
Producer Liz Kearney said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Charades and Anton and can’t wait to bring Memoir of a Snail to international audiences and invite them into the chunky wonky world of Adam Elliot.”
Charades, which works cross a multi-genre, director driven slate, has a strong track record in feature animation having previously handled sales on Oscar-nominated features Mirai by Mamoru Hosoda and I Lost My Body by Jérémy Clapin. In 2022, it was recognized as Distributor of the Year at Cartoon Movie.
“Adam Elliot’s talent as a storyteller and a maker is unquestionable. Once again, poetry and melancholy enlighten his unique plastic art and bring us to our knees. We are extremely proud to be part of this project from its earliest stages and to see it finally come to fruition,” said Charades co-head Carole Baraton.
Anton has produced and/or financed more than 400 titles including franchises such as Paddington, Shaun The Sheep and Greenland as well as box office hits like Non Stop, with more recent credits including Mothers’ Instinct, The End We Start From and Canary Black.
“We instantly fell in love with Adam’s story, the uniqueness of his craft and moreover the delicate balance of sweetness, humour and emotions he brings together to describe and enlighten human condition,” said Anton EVP, International Distribution & Acquisitions Louis Balsan.
Memoir of a Snail received major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Anton and Charades. It was developed and produced in association with VicScreen and financed with support from Soundfirm, Jameker and the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund (MIFF). Contact Ani-Tribe for online animation courses today www.ani-tribe.com
Credit: Deadline