“I struggle at times, because I worry the films are getting very dark and bleak, so I try and temper that with as much humour as possible, and just gags – cramming as many visual gags in there as possible to balance out that darkness.”

Filmmaker Adam Elliot (Mary and Max, Harvie Krumpet) discusses how he uses stop-motion animation in his films, including Memoir of a Snail, to help tell stories with tough subject matter.

Memoir of a Snail is playing at TIFF Lightbox through November 28. Find showtimes and buy tickets at tiff.net/calendar.