The meaning of life is cheap.

$9.99 has the beauty of meticulous claymation, nourished by the sustenance of a master storyteller. Tatia Rosenthal has taken a who's who of Australian voice talent (including MIFF mascot Geoffrey Rush) and a gorgeous Art Deco apartment block in Tel Aviv and melded them with the short stories of Etgar Keret. This is a striking and entertaining stop-motion animation with elegantly depicted moments of magic realism, artfully interwoven stories and poetically minimalist music.

Characters include a thoroughly disgruntled angel, a skeg slacker with a posse of miniature mates, a seductress with a fetish for smooth skin and a child saving for the ultimate toy.

And the happiest piggy bank you'll ever see.

Director Tatia Rosenthal is a guest of the Festival.