CLAYMATION FILMMAKER

Oscar Winner Adam Elliot was raised on an Outback Prawn Farm, with his dad (a retired acrobatic clown), mum (a hairdresser), two brothers, a sister and two parrots, Sunny and Cher. After the Prawn Farm went bankrupt, Adam's dad moved the Elliot clan back to Melbourne and promptly brought a hardware shop.

A shy child, Adam would spend hours in his bedroom making models from pipe cleaners and egg cartons. At 12 years of age he was sent to a private boys school where he excelled at Art, English Lit, Photography, Drawing, Sculpture and Drama. He also joined the school's Highland Pipe Band and overcame his shyness while playing the Bass Drum. After leaving school, Adam spent five yuears handprinting T-Shirts at a craft market. His most popular design was 'Murray the tap-dancing Dim-Sim'.

In 1996 he enrolled to study animation at the Victorian College of the Arts. It was at the VCA that he made his first film UNCLE. After graduating in 1997 he went on to complete the remaining two parts of his trilogy, COUSIN and BROTHER.

Adam has subsequently become one of Australia's most recognised filmmakers, with UNCLE, COUSIN and BROTHER assuming the position of being some of the country's most highly awarded and successful animated shorts.

The trilogy has appeared in over three hundred film festivals, winning more than fifty awards. Each section has been shortlisted for Academy Award consideration and in total have won four AFI Awards from five nominations.

Adam's latest claymation, HARVIE KRUMPET, narrated by Geoffrey Rush, has taken the world by storm after winning Best Animation at the 2004 Academy Awards. After such an amazing achievement, Adam is now writing the script for his next film, a feature that is no doubt eagerly anticapted by his new, global audience.

The appeal of Adam's films are universal. Infused with a balance of humour and pathos, his simple and endearing characters touch a nerve with people from all walks of life. Adam can talk to all year levels on a variety of topics, including

-Claymation
-Animation
-Scriptwriting
-Filmmaking
-Design & Art Direction
-Editing
-How To Get Into Film School.

"As well as being exceptionally talented with the creation of plasticine / modelling clay figures, Adam was fantastic in promoting the writing process, highlighting the importance of journals and discussing filmmaking techniques. Adam is one of the most flexible, interesting and motivating characters to have visited our school (as well as an extremely likeable fellow) where he worked with students from kindergarten to high school - from eyeball making to screenings and presentations."

- Greg Watt, Head Librarian, Osaka International School.

"Australia's crown prince of plasticine, Adam Elliot is as wildly entertaining, thought provoking and instructive in person as the magical characters in his claymated films. Adam has a great capacity for processing his experience as a film maker into enlightening and humourous presentations."

- Clare Stewart, Cinema Programmer, Australian Centre for the Moving Image