''Sparrows'' () is a 2015 internationally co-produced film directed by the 2006 short film oscar nominee

Rúnar Rúnarsson Rúnar Rúnarsson (born 20 January 1977 in Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, ma ...

, starring Atli Óskar Fjalarsson, Rakel Björk Björnsdóttir and

Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson (; born 22 November 1963) is an Icelandic actor who has worked extensively in Icelandic cinema. He has had roles in Friðrik Þór Friðriksson's '' Englar alheimsins'' (''Angels of the Universe'') and Baltasar Kormá ...

. It tells the story of a 16-year-old boy who moves from his mother in Reykjavík to his father in the Icelandic countryside. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the

2015 Toronto International Film Festival The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's '' Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Na ...

. It was selected as the Icelandic entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. Sparrows became a festival darling and on top of its great festival run the film has been honored with 20 international film awards since it was awarded the

Golden Shell The Golden Shell ( es, Concha de Oro; eu, Urrezko Maskorra) is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 19 ...

at the 63rd San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Cast

* Atli Óskar Fjalarsson as Ari *

as Gunnar * Kristbjörg Kjeld as Grandmother * Rakel Björk Björnsdóttir as Lára *

Rade Šerbedžija Rade Šerbedžija ( sr-Cyrl, Раде Шербеџија, ; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors i ...

as Tomislav * Valgeir Hrafn Skagfjörð as Bassi

Production

The film was produced by Denmark's

Nimbus Film Nimbus Film is Denmark's third largest film production company. Nimbus Film has to date produced more than 30 feature films and many shorts and documentaries. Of their more known feature films are the Dogme 95 movies ''The Celebration'' (1998, ...

and its subsidiary Nimbus Iceland, together with Pegasus Pictures and MP Film. It received three million Danish kroner in support from the

Danish Film Institute The Danish Film Institute ( da, Det Danske Filminstitut) is the national Danish agency responsible for supporting and encouraging film and cinema culture, and for conserving these in the national interest. Also known as ''Filmhuset'' ("the film ...

as well as backing from the Icelandic Film Centre, The Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Filming began on 14 July 2014 in Iceland.

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links