---
name: "Elena Kats-Chernin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/elena-kats-chernin"
fi1m_id: "elena-kats-chernin"
imdb_id: "nm1310351"
tmdb_id: 2127222
wikidata_id: "Q273213"
roles: ["Composer"]
born: "4 November 1957"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-30T22:43:23.585086+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Elena Kats-Chernin

## Identity

Elena Kats-Chernin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/elena-kats-chernin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** elena-kats-chernin
- **IMDb ID:** nm1310351
- **TMDB ID:** 2127222
- **Wikidata ID:** Q273213
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Kats-Chernin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q273213, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1310351/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2127222

Composer. Born 4 November 1957 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, USSR [now Uzbekistan].

## Details

- **Work:** Composer
- **Born:** 4 November 1957, Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, USSR [now Uzbekistan]
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_Kats-Chernin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q273213, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1310351/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/2127222

## Streaming the US now

- **AMC+:** [*Memoir of a Snail*](https://film.one/film/memoir-of-a-snail.md) (72)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Elena Kats-Chernin is an Australian composer and pianist. She was born on 4 November 1957 in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR (now Uzbekistan). She studied at the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow before emigrating to Australia in 1975. There she continued her studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Richard Toop (composition) and Gordon Watson (piano). She later studied in Germany with Helmut Lachenmann and lived there until returning to Australia in 1994.

Kats-Chernin has composed works across many genres, including ballet, opera, orchestral and chamber music. She is known for the ballet *Wild Swans* (2002, choreographed by Meryl Tankard) and its aria 'Eliza Aria'. Her film scores include music for *Mary and Max* (2009) and the full score for *Memoir of a Snail* (2024), performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She received the Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, allmusic.com, imdb.com, abc.net.au.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Memoir of a Snail* (2024), Fi1m 72, Music, Original Music Composer — [page](https://film.one/film/memoir-of-a-snail.md)

## Complete filmography (7)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Memoir of a Snail* (2024), Original Music Composer — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/film/memoir-of-a-snail.md)
- *Removed* (2012), Music
- *The Boot Cake* (2008), Music
- *Pyongyang Diaries* (1998), Original Music Composer
- *Clocks* (1995), Music
- *People on Sunday* (1930), Music
- *The Devious Path* (1928), Music

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won, 3 nominated

- Australian Women in Music Awards 2022: Australian Women in Music Awards (won)
- Officer of the Order of Australia 2019: Officer of the Order of Australia (won)
- ARIA Music Awards of 2017 2017: ARIA Music Awards of 2017 (nominated)
- ARIA Music Awards of 2008 2008: ARIA Music Awards of 2008 (nominated)
- ARIA Music Awards of 2005 2005: ARIA Music Awards of 2005 (nominated), for *Wild Swans*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/elena-kats-chernin