It’s a halcyon six-week summer on the coast of Cyprus for 11-year-old Iris (first-time actress Maria Petrova) when she discovers that her grandfather has passed away and her estranged father, Aris (Christos Passalis), is back in town for his funeral. Iris is a familiar character in the oeuvre of New York University-educated Cypriot filmmaker Myrsini Aristidou: both of her short films, Semele (2015, Generation KPlus Special Jury Prize at the Berlinale) and Aria (2017, Venice Orizzonti Corti), follow similar premises about a young girl seeking to strengthen her relationship with her father.

In the Greek-language Hold Onto Me, which has just had its world premiere in the Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition, we’re confronted first with the gentle blues of the natural landscape of sea and sky. Ocean waves become one of Aristidou’s cinematic motifs, presenting a sense of excitement and adventure, but also a tinge of fear when pushed too far. The soft yellow-orange of the setting sun and the pastel-coloured scenery palette feel like a warm embrace, rather than a harsh wake-up call: hard-earned redemption, not heartbreak, is the name of the game.

Left to her own devices, Iris has had to grow up fast. It’s obvious from the start of the film: her mother dashes off on holiday with her new boyfriend, and leaves her with only some bread, milk and her older brother Fivos (Nicolas Metaxas), whom we hardly see throughout the rest of the running time. Her closest buddy is older teen Danae (Jenny Sallo), who’s more interested in hanging out with the boys. DoP Lasse Ulvedal Tolbøll’s camera wanders along with Iris, often at eye level (the heads of adults are often simply cut off at the top of the frame), but also frequently veers off to capture the delightful bits of mischief that punctuate her character.

Iris is thus not afraid to confront Aris – who is more interested in selling all of his father’s possessions for money than re-meeting the daughter he left so many years ago – and convince him to bring her along. Despite his repeated attempts to shoo her away, she quickly warms to him, albeit with some hesitance, sticking to his side like Velcro. He begins to change his mind first when he discovers her charm can be used to extort more money out of poor suckers standing around. Then, his expressions of care shift more drastically and in a moving way.

Although executed well in form and style, the narrative and character development are, in the end, ultimately quite conventional. However, the chemistry between Petrova and Passalis – a cheeky smile, a wry sigh – makes for a great build-up to its satisfying, albeit a tad melodramatic, ending sequence, which lasts around 15 minutes. Duetting piano and guitar by Alex Weston (who also did the music for Lulu Wang’s The Farewell) accompanies them; despite its easy-going feel, it floats more superficially on the top of the story in a way that pulls viewers out of the narrative and adds to the film’s more standardised feel.

Hold Onto Me is a production by Fredo Pictures (Denmark), Graal Films (Greece), Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture – Department of Contemporary Culture (Cyprus) and the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (Greece), with support from the Danish Film Institute (Denmark), Pleasant Bay Pictures (USA) and Mango Productions (USA). Its world sales have been boarded by Dubai-based sales outfit Cercamon.