White Snail

White Snail
Promotional poster
Original title	Green Parrot
Directed by	Elsa Kremser  [ de ] Levin Peter  [ de ]
Screenplay by	Elsa Kremser Levin Peter
Produced by	Lixi Frank David Bohun Elsa Kremser Levin Peter
Starring	Marya Imbro Mikhail Senkov
Cinematography	Mikhail Khursevich
Edited by	Stephan Bechinger  [ de ]
Music by	John Gürtler Jan Miserre
Production companies	Panama Film RAUMZEITFILM (AT) Majade Fiktion (DE)
Distributed by	Filmladen Verleih (Austria) Real Fiction Filmverleih (Germany)
Release date	8 August 2025 (2025-08-08)(Locarno)
Running time	115 minutes
Countries	Germany Austria
Languages	Russian Belarusian English Mandarin

White Snail is a 2025 German-Austrian romance film written and directed by Elsa Kremser, and Levin Peter. Starring Marya Imbro, and Mikhail Senkov, it follows Masha, a model pursuing her dream job in China, and Misha, a painter working in a morgue, in a fragile love story of two outsiders who turn each other's worlds upside down. ^{[1] [2]}

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 8 August 2025, ^[3] where it won the Special Jury Prize and the Pardo for Best Performance for Imbro and Senkov. ^[4]

Cast

• Marya Imbro as Masha
• Mikhail Senkov as Misha
• Olga Reptuh as Olga
• Andrei Sauchanka as Andrei

Production

Levin Peter, director of the film

Elsa Kremser, director of the film

The film directed by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter is inspired by real-life stories of non-professional actors, was shot in Belarus. It won the Perspektive Deutsches Kino – Kompagnon-Fellowship at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in 2017 and participated at the TorinoFilmLab. ^{[5] [6]}

In 2021, it was selected at the TorinoFilmLab in the FeatureLab alongwith 9 other films. ^[7]

In 2022, Eurimages supported the film (working title Green Parrot) with €300,000. ^[8]

Principal photography began on 12 June 2023 on the location of Minsk in Belarus, and Daugavpils in Latvia. The filming ended on 15 September 2023. ^{[9] [10]}

Release

White Snail had its World Premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival on 8 August 2025, and competed for Golden Leopard. ^[11] A week later, it competed for Heart of Sarajevo award in the Competition Programme - Feature Film at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival on 18 August 2025. ^{[12] [13]}

It was presented in Features at the Vienna International Film Festival on 19 October 2025. ^[14]

It was presented in the 'Spotlight: Austria' at the 29th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on 7 November 2025. ^[15]

Rome-based Intramovies acquired the world sales rights to the film in July. ^[5]

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result	Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival	18 February 2017	Kompagnon-Fellowship – Perspektive Deutsches Kino	Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser for White Snail	Won	[16]
Locarno Film Festival	16 August 2025	Golden Leopard	White Snail	Nominated	[17]
		Special Jury Prize		Won	[18]
		Pardo for Best Performance	Marya Imbro	Won
			Mikhail Senkov	Won
Sarajevo Film Festival	22 August 2025	Heart of Sarajevo	White Snail	Nominated	[19]
		CICAE (International Confederation of Art Cinemas) Award		Won	[20]
Vienna International Film Festival	28 October 2025	Erste Bank MehrWERT Award		Won	[21]

References

1. "White Snail". Locarno Film Festival . 8 July 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
2. "White Snail". Austrian Films. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
3. Mona Tabbara (8 July 2025). "Locarno unveils 2025 line-up including premieres of Radu Jude's 'Dracula', Kamal Aljafari's 'With Hasan In Gaza'". ScreenDaily . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
4. Balaga, Marta (16 August 2025). "Sho Miyake's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' Wins at Locarno". Variety. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
5. Emiliano De Pablos (10 July 2025). "Intramovies Nabs World Sales to Locarno Player 'White Snail,' an Unconventional Love Story Set in Belarus (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
6. "Die beiden Kompagnon-Förderpreise Berlinale Talents und Perspektive Deutsches Kino gehen an Nora Fingscheidt sowie an Levin Peter und Elsa Kremser" ["The two Kompagnon awards, Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino, go to Nora Fingscheidt as well as to Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser."](PDF) (in German). Berlinale. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
7. Scarpa, Vittoria (2 December 2021). "30 projects took to the stage at the 14th TFL Meeting Event". Cineuropa . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
8. González, David (5 December 2022). "Eurimages supports 24 co-productions". Cineuropa . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
9. "White Snail: Feature Film, 2023-2025, Drama – Austria, Germany". Crew United. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
10. "White Snail". Austrian Film Institute. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
11. Szalai, Georg (8 July 2025). "'Dracula' by Radu Jude, David Lynch-Exec Produced 'Happy Worker' Set for Locarno Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
12. Leo Barraclough (23 July 2025). "Fifty Films Compete for the Heart of Sarajevo Awards at 31st Sarajevo Film Festival". Variety . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
13. "Regional premiere of the film White Snail". Sarajevo Film Festival . Retrieved 18 August 2025.
14. "The Viennale: White Snail". Vienna International Film Festival . 19 October 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
15. "White Snail". Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival . 4 November 2025. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
16. "All Awards and Juries of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival" (PDF). Berlinale. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
17. Marta Balaga (8 July 2025). "Radu Jude, Abdellatif Kechiche Head to Locarno as Swiss Fest Announces Lineup, An 'Ambitious and Exciting Edition'". Variety . Retrieved 19 July 2025.
18. Georg Szalai (16 August 2025). "Locarno Film Festival Top Award Goes to 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' by Sho Miyake". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 16 August 2025.
19. Ntim, Zac (23 July 2025). "Sarajevo Film Festival Sets Competition Titles Including 15 World Premieres". Deadline . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
20. Georg Szalai (22 August 2025). "Sarajevo Film Festival 2025 Awards: 'Wind, Talk to Me,' 'Our Time Will Come' Win Top Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 23 August 2025.
21. Gottlieb, Susanne (29 October 2025). "The Viennale comes to a close with a big award for Perla and greater attendee numbers". Cineuropa . Retrieved 29 October 2025.

External links

• Official website
• White Snail at IMDb  
• White Snail at Locarno Film Festival
• White Snail at Raumzeitfilm