It’s summer, and 11-year-old Iris is running wild through the streets with her older friend Danae when she learns her estranged father, Aris, is back in town for his own father’s funeral. Determined to know him, Iris tracks him down to a dilapidated shipyard, where he’s been keeping to himself. What begins as a stubborn attempt to reconnect slowly unfolds into a fragile bond - imperfect, yet poignant.
The main cast includes Christos Passalis, Maria Petrova, Jenny Sallo and Aulona Lupa.
“Hold onto Me is a personal and emotionally layered story about a father and daughter rediscovering each other. The film captures both the beauty and the tension of reconnection, weaving moments of humour, defiance and tenderness through the eyes of 11-year-old Iris. As a Cypriot filmmaker, it was important to me to portray the richness and stillness of everyday life here: the worn-out backdrops, the sense of time standing still, the forgotten colliding with the new, and the raw emotional undercurrents that continue to shape us. At its core, the film is about the fragile beginnings of a bond, one that never quite had the chance to grow but might still find its shape”, Myrsini Aristidou told FNE.
The young writer/director sees Iris also as a personification of her country.
“There’s a quiet moment in the film The Darkest Hour (by Joe Wright), when Winston Churchill reflects on his childhood and says, “My father was like God. Busy elsewhere.” That line resonates with me deeply and stayed with me throughout the making of this film. It captures something Iris might never say out loud, but deeply feels - the ache of absence and the longing to be seen, even saved. In many ways, Iris mirrors Cyprus itself: small, overlooked, marked by absence, yet quietly determined to piece things together.” Aristidou also said.
Filmblades (Cyprus) and One Six One Films (Cyprus) are producing the film in coproduction with Fredo Pictures (Denmark), Graal S.A (Greece), with the support from the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, ERT (Greek TV Channel), the Danish Film Institute, the Greek Film Center, the Black Family Grant of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Pleasant Bay Pictures, the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab - Emerging Filmmaker Award, and Mango Productions.
The film was financed through a combination of public funds, institutional support, international grants, and private investment secured between 2018 and 2024.
The producers are Monica Nicolaidou, Myrsini Aristidou, Anders N.U Berg, Konstantina Stavrianou and Rena Vougioukalou. Mark Hollinger and Thomas J. Mangan IV (USA) are executive producers.
The principal photography took place during the summer and fall of 2023 in Limassol and Nicosia, including the surrounding coastal areas. The completion of the film is expected by the summer of 2025.
The film is represented in Denmark by Angel Films.
Born and raised in Limassol, Myrsini Aristidou is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York, Paris and Cyprus. She is best known for her short films Semele (2015) and Aria (2017), both films dealing with the fragile relationships of fathers and daughters. She was a fellow of the Cannes Cinéfondation Residence, the TIFF Talent Lab, the Berlinale Talents, and the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab.
Production Information:
Producers:
Filmblades (Cyprus)
Monica Nicolaidou: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
One Six One Films (Cyprus)
Myrsini Aristidou: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Coproducers:
Fredo Pictures (Denmark)
Graal S.A (Greece)
Credits:
Director: Myrsini Aristidou
Screenwriter: Myrsini Aristidou
DoP: Lasse Ulvedal Tolbøll
Editors: Jenna Mangulad, Myrsini Aristidou
Composer: Alex Weston
Production designer: Dimitra Sourlantzi
Sound designer/mixer: Kostas Varympopiotis
Cast: Christos Passalis, Maria Petrova, Jenny Sallo, Aulona Lupa
