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The 73rd Sydney Film Festival programme has been announced, including 19 films nonstop from the Cannes Film Festival, and two Greek films.
Amongst the lineup is Cypriot play Hold onto me, starring Christos Passalis and Maria Petrova.
Directed by Myrsini Aristidou, it follows 11-year-old Iris who discovers her estranged, con-artist begetter has returned to Cyprus for a household funeral, and tracks him down to a dilapidated shipyard to initate a fragile, high- stakes effort astatine reconnection.
Aristidou is besides known for the films Semele (2015) which won the Special Jury Prize astatine the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, and Aria (2017) screened astatine the 2017 Venice Film Festival and the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
The movie premiered astatine the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic.
The different Greek movie is HEN, a Greece/Germany/Hungary co-production.
Stillshot from HEN. Photo: SuppliedThis tragicomedy pursuing a clever hen who escapes an concern workplace and journeys done a bid of life’s perils successful the chaotic quality world while trying to support her eggs.
It world premiered and earned an honourable notation astatine the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
Shot with 8 trained hens and nary CGI/AI used, it was directed by György Pálfi and stars Ioannis Kokiasmenos, Maria Diakopanagioti, Argyris Pantazaras, Machmout Bamerni, Chronis Barbarian, Antonis Kafetzopoulos, Nikos Kattis, Dimitris Pelekis and Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos.
In a media merchandise Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said:
“Art and cinema assistance us marque consciousness of the world, take us into the lives of radical acold distant from us, and punctual us to stay vigilant astir our ain rights and freedoms. And we can’t forget, they’re besides an tremendous source of joy.”
The Sydney Film Festival runs from 3-14 June 2026, with tickets available astatine its website.
Trailer for Hold onto me
Trailer for HEN
Greek (GR) · 
English (US) ·