After winning the Golden Shell in San Sebastian, the ‘1-2 Competition’ in Warsaw, as well as the Silver Hugo at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival, two new awards have been given to this minority co-production in São Paulo. Sparrows is a film about 16 year-old Ari who lives with his mother in Reykjavik, but is suddenly forced to move in with his father Gunnar in the remote Westfjords. There he has to navigate his relationship with his father, as well as his relationship with his childhood friends who have since significantly changed. The film is produced by Nimbus Film and Nimbus Iceland and is co-produced by Pegasus Pictures (Iceland) and MP Film Productions (Croatia). 

After São Paulo, Sparrows will head over to festivals in Braunschweig (Germany), Tallinn (Estonia), Thessaloniki (Greece), Vilnius (Lithuania) and Bratislava (Slovakia). The film will premiere in Croatia at the 13th Zagreb Film Festival to be held from November 14th to 22nd. 

The 39th São Paulo festival, along with Sparrows, screened three other Croatian films: the documentary Sick by Hrvoje Mabić, the feature film The Reaper by Zvonimir Jurić, and the minority co-production Itsi Bitsi by Ole Christian Madsen. 

This year, the international jury was headed by Geraldine Chaplin, British actress and eldest daughter of Charlie Chaplin. For more information please see the festival’s official website. 

Cover photos: festival atmosphere; Geraldine Chaplin