Director's Statement
My stories are reflections of everyday life; biographies of people we can relate to; friends, eccentric relatives, and the colourful people we encounter in the street. I try to get a balance between humour and pathos, light and shade, comedy and tragedy. I invented a word to describe my films, clayographies, a portmanteau term combining clay and biographies.
As an auteur, I have to wear many hats. One of my favourite roles is the Production Designer. Melbourne had one of the longest covid lockdowns but luckily, I was able to spend my confinement prepping for the film. Over five months I hand drew the 1600 storyboard panels on pieces of paper then moved on to drawing the 200 characters, 200 sets and the thousands of props that needed to be handmade. For this film, I wanted to keep the materials and aesthetic simple, and use four basic materials: clay, wire, paper and paint. Too much stopmotion has become slick and reliant on 3D printers. I wanted to celebrate the clay, its lumps, bumps and imperfections.
I was born with a hereditary shake which I have incorporated into my aesthetic. Every asset had to look flawed, asymmetrical; as if made in a hurry or by someone who was drunk. My character's psyches are imperfect and so I wanted their appearance to match my drawings which are loose, gestural and naive. I have a holistic approach to my work and strive for originality. Art imitates life and vice versa; for me they are inseparable and both art and filmmaking have become my yoga.
Memoir of a Snail Memoir of a Snail
directed by Adam Elliot, written by Adam Elliot, cinematographer Gerald Thompson, editing Bill Murphy, animation supervisor John Lewis, music composer Elena Kats-Chernin, sound designer David Williams, producers Liz Kearney, Adam Eliott, production Arena Media, Screen Australia
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What's On
The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Peter Cattaneo
Sunday, 27. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle
This moving dramedy about the unlikely friendship between a cynical Englishman and an adorable penguin was adapted by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) from a true story.
Parthenope Parthenope
Paolo Sorrentino
Monday, 28. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle
Born in the 1950s in the sea in front of her home villa, Parthenope seeks happiness in the long summers of her youth and falls in love with her native Naples and its many picturesque characters. Paolo Sorrentino has created a seductive epic about a modern heroine’s journey beyond “great beauty” and “youth”.
All We Imagine as Light All We Imagine as Light
Payal Kapadia
Tuesday, 29. 07. 2025 / 21:30 / The Ljubljana Castle
In the bustling chaos of Mumbai, the lives of three women from different generations intertwine. The debut feature by Payal Kapadia, winner of the Jury Grand Prize at Cannes, is the first Indian film in thirty years to compete in the festival’s main competition.