Camille Chen's debut feature film Little Sparrows has won the SPAARTAN Award in the 2010 DigiSPAA feature film competition, part of the Screen Producers Association of Australia's (SPAA) annual conference.
Little Sparrows traces the emotional journey of three sisters (played by Nina Deasley, Melanie Munt and Arielle Gray) whose mother Susan (Nicola Bartlett) is dying of breast cancer. As the women gather to celebrate what will be their last Christmas with their mother, the film explores and reflects upon the individual journeys of the three sisters, the decisions they've made and their family relationships.
The film was shot on location in Chen's home state of Western Australia in December 2009. The world premiere of the film took place at the Sydney Film Festival in June this year and it also recently screened as part of the 5th International Rome Film Festival.
DigiSPAA is a celebration of the use of digital media technologies in filmmaking. When asked to describe how digital technology influenced the production process of Little Sparrows, Chen says that the use of this technology provided her with "a different kind of creative freedom and versatility," allowing her to be "as unobtrusive as possible and almost pseudo-documentary in style" whilst remaining "drama-focused."
Chen describes the reception of the film both within and outside Australia as "overwhelming and positive. Whichever city we screen the film I constantly become amazed how people come to understand the film, particularly women."
When asked about the production process behind Little Sparrows, Chen says that one of her goals as director was to "inspire people to give the best in themselves. The energy we were able to experience during the shoot translates on the screen so well."
Chen goes on to describe the most rewarding aspect of the filmmaking process as the "fact that we self-funded the film which allowed us so much creative control", going on to say that the "beauty of independent filmmaking is the responsibility you have to yourself."
Little Sparrows has secured an international distribution deal with Paris-based international sales agent Urban Media International. An Australian release is still to be confirmed.
For more information on Camille Chen and Little Sparrows, click here.
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