Little Sparrows

It's Christmastime in Australia and the heat is bearing down. A family celebrates the holiday as best they can, knowing they're together for the last time. Susan, the loving matriarch and only in her 50s, has just discovered that her cancer has returned. Present at dinner are Susan, her husband (a theater actor with a dramatic personality), and their three daughters: Nina, a young widow with two children; Anna, an actress unhappily married to a filmmaker; and Christine, a med student who's just coming out as a lesbian. LITTLE SPARROWS is an emotional journey into the realms of passion, responsibility, and love. A chapter of the film is devoted to each of the daughters, whose life stories dovetail with their mother's. Before Susan dies, she imparts wisdom and encouragement to sustain her girls along their way. While helping them to define themselves so their lives can take flight, she searches for a way to hold them close forever. Despite its sad subject matter, LITTLE SPARROWS lets a spark of optimism glimmer through the messiness and unfinished business inherent to all lives and all families. –B.B.