Darwin International Film Festival (DIFF) is thrilled to announce the Closing Night Gala Event of DIFF 2024 as the NT Premiere of MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, from the remarkable mind of Academy Award® winning director Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet, Mary and Max) – Sunday 22 September at Deckchair Cinema.

Produced by Liz Kearney, Memoir of a Snail won the top Cristal Award for Best Feature Film from its world premiere at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival, before opening the Melbourne International Film Festival earlier this month.

Succession star Sarah Snook voices the role of Grace Pudel, a lonely misfit with an affinity for collecting ornamental snails and an intense love for books. At a young age, when Grace is separated from her fire-breathing twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee), 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 (Jacki Weaver), who is full of grit and lust for life. With the voice cast also featuring Eric Bana, Magda Szubanski and Dominique PinonMemoir of a Snail is a poignant, heartfelt and hilarious chronicle of the life of an outsider finding her confidence and silver linings amongst the clutter of everyday life.

DIFF’s Closing Night Gala event kicks off at 5.45pm when gates open, with meals available from Darwin’s original tapas experience Moorish, live music from Crystal Robbins and the Wildfires, and of course a spectacular sunset. From 7pm, guests settle into their deckchairs and beanbags for a night of cinema under the stars which gets underway with two short films.

  • Comedic crime thriller with a deeper message about culture, heritage, and the migrant family experience, Pasifika Drift,by director Alana Hicks. The film is a Master of Arts Screen production from the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS), in partnership with the PNG and wider Pasifika communities of Sydney.
  • Special guest, Julian Neuhauswill introduce his film Mise en Place, a short film about bullying and karma set in one of Sydney’s top restaurants, starring Ashley Khule and Spanish-Australian celebrity chef Miguel Maestre. Mise en Place was produced by award-winning Bus Stop Films which makes films with, for and about people from diverse backgrounds and abilities.

DIFF Manager James Parker said “Memoir of a Snail is the perfect end to what is promising to be the best DIFF ever, and for total stop-motion immersion we are also screening Mary and Max in the RFDS Retro program! Our Closing Night Gala will be an event to remember, and we are particularly thrilled to welcome Bus Stop Films back to the festival, after last year’s screening of Hopeful Romantic. Our closing night also coincides with the close of Screen Territory’s NT Screen Summit, the NT’s major screen industry event bringing together the makers and creators with the audience they are creating for, together under the stars.”

DIFF audiences can catch Adam Elliot’s Mary and Max in the RFDS RETRO program, at screening in the theatre at Royal Flying Doctor Service’s Tourist Centre, Stokes Hill Wharf at 5pm on Friday 20 September.

The 2024 Darwin International Film Festival presents a cinematic (and literal) feast with premieres, special guests, events, live music screening and more at the iconic Deckchair Cinema, and for the first time, at the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Tourist Centre theatre on Stokes Hill Wharf – from 12-22 September. A huge program of 29 feature films and 30 shorts includes the best local, international, award-winning and crowd-pleasing films, with every day of DIFF an event!

Tickets on sale now at www.diff.net.au

The 2024 Darwin International Film Festival is presented by the Darwin Film Society, NT Government Community Benefit Fund, NT Major Eventsand Screen Territory. DIFF gratefully acknowledges the support of Screen Australia and Randazzo Properties.

DIFF 202412-22 September at Deckchair Cinema, RFDS Theatre, Darwin Waterfront and Hilton Darwin.

Full program and tickets at www.diff.net.au

DIFF Down the Road in Katherine: 19 – 22 September at Katherine Cinema 3 from, with a selection of highlights from the 2024 DIFF program. DIFF Down the Road is presented by DIFF and the Darwin Film Society in partnership with the Katherine Film Society. Program to be announced soon!  www.diff.net.au/katherine

Mparntwe/Alice Springs International Film Festival (MASIFF): 3-13 October will bring the best of local and international film to the Red Centre from 3 to 13 October. MASIFF is produced by Red Hot Arts with support from DIFF and the Darwin Film Society. Program to be announced soon!  www.diff.net.au/alice-springs

 

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