Meditative, provocative, educational, life-affirming and beautiful, Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s 15-minute “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” is on the lineup of a San Francisco Green Film Festival program at the Exploratorium today.
Part of “Contemplating Critters,” a showcase of short films also focusing on bugs and butterflies, “Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” tells the story an invalid — confined in bed due to a mysterious pathogen — who finds solace in the company of a wild forest snail, a gift from a caregiver, that glides through her bedroom. Never has slime looked so good!
Based on Bailey’s award-winning 2010 natural history-memoir of the same name, the gorgeous movie features Ariela Kuh as the ill woman and narration by Daryl Hannah. But the real star is the white-lipped forest snail (Neohelix albolabris). Not only is it a sight to behold, it makes surprising noises as it munches on a mushroom and other leafy foods.
As described in promotional material, the movie indeed reveals an “intimate journey of survival and resilience.”
Screenings are at 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Exploratorium, Pier 15, The Embarcadero, S.F.
For more information about this and other screenings at the S.F. Green Film Festival, which continues through Sunday, Sept. 29, visit www.greenfilmfest.org.
