Cyprus' First Oscar Submission 'Hold Onto Me' Explores a Complex Father-Daughter Drama

The drama Hold Onto Me has made history by becoming Cyprus' first-ever international feature film Oscar submission. Written and directed by filmmaker Myrsini Aristidou, the movie serves as her feature-length directorial debut and stars newcomer Maria Petrova alongside Christos Passalis, who is known for his role in Dogtooth. The project is currently screening in the Just Film youth and children's event at the 30th edition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia.

The narrative follows an 11-year-old girl named Iris, who spends her regular days alongside her older best friend, Danae. Her life shifts when she learns that her grandfather has passed away. Visiting the town for the funeral is Aris, Iris' father, whom she has never previously known. This encounter forms the core premise of the feature as Iris attempts to connect with Aris, who works as a petty criminal and initially shows reluctance to take on parental responsibilities.

Despite warnings from her mother and her older brother, Iris refuses to give up and becomes involved in Aris' various schemes. What begins as a stubborn attempt to reconnect gradually unfolds into a fragile bond between the two characters. However, complications arise as Aris' dark history eventually places them into trouble. The international co-production involves teams across Cyprus, Denmark, and Greece, featuring cinematography by Lasse Ulvedal Tolbøll and editing by Jenna Mangulad alongside the director.

The father-daughter dynamic central to the film is a subject that Myrsini Aristidou has previously examined in her earlier short films. The director describes the feature as part of a triptych, noting that her 2015 short film Semele first explored a father and daughter story, followed by her second short film, Aria, which featured a teenage daughter. Wanting to investigate the subject further in a feature format, the filmmaker sought to approach the familiar dynamic from a surprising angle.

The filmmaker aimed to frame the archetypical relationship through a unique lens involving two people who initially do not know how to coexist. Because they share no prior history or shared experiences, the narrative tests the societal expectations typically placed upon family members. The project's narrative structure was intentionally designed to move forward continuously with each scene to keep the story evolving as it unfolds.

Following its festival screenings, the Cyprus-Denmark-Greece co-production continues to gain attention internationally as the country's pioneering Academy Award entry. The film brings a deeply personal thematic continuation to the director's previous work while introducing audiences to a fresh collaborative pairing on screen.