Sparrows, Rúnar Rúnarsson’s most recent feature, has won the Golden Shell award for Best Film at the prestigious San Sebastián International Film Festival in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. Sparrows recently had its world premiere at the Toronto and now arrived on Tofifest filmfestival.
In Sparrows, 16-year-old Ari, who has been living with his mother in Reykjavík, is suddenly sent back to his hometown in the remote West Fjords to live with his father. His relationship with his father has become difficult, and his childhood friends have changed. In these seemingly hopeless surroundings, Ari must step up and find his way.
Sparrows was written and directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson. The cast consists of Atli Óskar Fjalarsson, Ingvar E. Sigurdsson, Rakel Björk Björnsdóttir and Rade Serbedzija. Kjartan Sveinsson composed the score.
Sparrows is Rúnarsson’s second feature. His first, Volcano, premiered in the Director’s Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in 2011. His short film 2 Birds (2008) also premiered at Cannes, and his earlier short The Last Farm (2004) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.
Sparrows is the second Icelandic film in recent years to be awarded at San Sebastián. In 2013 Benedikt Erlingsson’s Of Horses and Men won the Kutxa-New Directors Award.
For further information about Sparrows, visit the Icelandic Film Database