SanSebastian

SPARROWS by Rúnar Rúnarsson

A coming-of-age story about 16-year old Ari, who, after living with his mother in Reykjavik, is sent back to the far-flung Westfjords region to live with his father, Gunnar. There, he has to navigate a difficult relationship with his father as he finds that his childhood friends have changed. In these hopeless, desperate surroundings, Ari has to sharpen up and find his way.

Photocall

Press conference

Information, synopsis, and San Sebastian screening schedule:

http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2015/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/631783/in

• "A father-son conflict in a remote Icelandic village is framed by mountains and sea in the sad and delicate coming of age story Sparrows, lifted well above the teen drama genre by its solid directing and spectacular surroundings”  - David D’Arcy / Screen International TIFF review

• Sparrows allows us an unsparing glimpse into a life we might never know ourselves, and when it closes the curtain on the scene we are left only as enriched and moved as we allows ourselves to be" - Brian Roan / The Film Stage TIFF review

THE WHITE KNIGHTS by Joachim Lafosse

Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours NGO, is planning a high impact operation : he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphans victims of Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the NGO members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.

Information, synopsis, and San Sebastian screening schedule:

http://www.sansebastianfestival.com/2015/sections_and_films/official_selection/7/630083/in

• “The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” so the proverb goes, and perhaps no tagline better fits The White Knights (Les Chevaliers Blancs), a provocative and probing new drama from belgium auteur Joachim Lafosse.” Jordan Mintzer / The Hollywood Reporter TIFF review

• Joachim Lafosse’s The White Knights dives into the muddled politics and back-dealing agendas behind charity in this dark, methodical and insightful look at foreign do-gooders whose supposed best intentions cause more damage." - Now Toronto / TFF review

• "A group of French do-gooders turns out to be arguably not-so-good-doers in The White Knights (Les Chevaliers blancs), Joachim Lafosse’s fact-inspired take on the machinations of an NGO that represented its mission one way while sneaky intentions pointed another way entirely.  A compelling cast of characters whose convictions are put to the test in the inconvenient crucible of war-torn sub-Saharan Africa make this film as watchable as it is disturbing.  With desperate migrants perishing or washing ashore in unprecedented numbers in Europe, this timely film asks what might constitute a better life for non-Westerners and who gets to decide.” - Lisa Nesselson / Screen International TIFF review

• "The proceedings unspool in a comparatively low-key matter-of-fact fashion. The secret clock is ticking and yet there is no artificial drama”  - Lisa Nesselson / Screen International TIFF review