Icelandic Short Film Wins Award

An Icelandic short film has won an award at the Giffoni International Festival in Italy.
“Hvalfjörður” was awarded the Golden Spike Award at the Giffoni festival, the largest children’s film festival in Europe, for “having narrated a strong story, set in the desolate Icelandic countryside which makes the spectator reflect upon the delicate relationship siblings usually have and the essential right to live,” according to the festival’s website.
Directed by Reykjavík-born, Copenhagen-based filmmaker Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson, “Hvalfjörður”  tells the story of a seven-year-old who comes across his older brother attempting suicide. A promise is made not to tell the parents of what the younger brother saw and their relationship becomes very tense.
The film was previously screened at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the prestigious Palme D’Ôr award.