Glassboy awarded at PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival

Glassboy, the children’s film directed by director and screenwriter Samuele Rossi, freely inspired by the Andersen Prize-winning novel Il bambino di vetro (The Glass Child) by Fabrizio Silei, was awarded at the 24th edition of the prestigious PÖFF | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, the largest cultural event in north-eastern Europe, which each year presents over 600 titles and hosts more than 1,000 professionals from all over the world. Presented in the Just Film section, a space entirely dedicated to children’s films, Glassboy, the story of a child with a limiting illness who manages to overcome his fears and frailties through friendship with an adventurous gang of peers, the Snerds, won the ECFA award for Best Film. The film will also be on the short list to win the Best Children’s Film award at the Berlinale 2021.

The jury awarded the prize with the following motivation: ‘Of all the wonderful journeys we took, one stood out for its exceptionally well-played story about overcoming isolation and the ability to transform an individual’s sense of ‘diversity’ to become part of a group of friends. In spite of a well-meaning but overprotective family, our protagonist manages to take control of his life and gradually make his family learn to follow and adapt to him. For its deep characterisations in a well-staged world and for its compelling and well-written plot about friendship, courage and freedom’.