EXCLUSIVE: Acclaimed actor Willem Dafoe, who recently starred in the Oscar-nominated film The poor and can next be seen in Tim Burton’s upcoming Venice opener Beetlejuice Beetlejuicehas just finished filming the tycoon family drama Birthday party from the Greek production house Heretic.
The previously secret project is directed by Miguel Angel Jimenéz based on the novel of the same name by Panos Karnezis. Dafoe stars Emma Suarez, Joe Cole and Vic Carmen Sonne. Other cast members include Christos Stergioglou, Carlos Cuevas, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, Fransesc Garrido, Maria Pau Pigem, Pelle Heikkilä and Elsa Lekkakou.
The story is set somewhere in the Mediterranean in the late 1970s, where Marcos Timoleon, a tycoon in the style of Aristotle Onassis, is throwing a lavish, extravagant birthday party for Sofia, his daughter and sole heir, on his exclusive private island. The party is a perfect pretext for various people in his life to approach him with their own plans. But Marcos, who is used to ruthlessly controlling everything and everyone around him at any cost, is also secretly planning a big decision on behalf of his daughter.
However, Sofia has come to share some important news of her own. As the guests pour in and the night falls, the party becomes increasingly loud and decadent as the inevitable clash between Marcos and Sofia reaches a heartbreaking climax.
Birthday party is produced by Giorgos Karnavas of Heretic, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jimenéz and Nicos Panayotopoulos. Co-producers are Adria Mones for Fasten Films, Erik, Glijnis and Leontine Petit for Lemming Film and Kurban Kassam for Raucous Pictures.
The project is a Greek-Spanish-Dutch-British co-production and principal photography was completed on August 17 after filming in Corfu and Athens, Greece.
“It’s a story that’s been with me for almost 15 years, and that fact shows what it meant to me,” Karnavas said of the film. “It was a super intense journey to make it happen, and I think we – our outstanding cast and crew – all had incredible moments while making this film. I’m very proud of how we walked this path with Miguel Angel, and I really hope all that energy is in the material.”
Jimenéz added: “I am incredibly proud and grateful to have been able to work with this extraordinary cast and crew on this journey. Being surrounded by multiple languages during filming, multiple ways of understanding life and acting, working on a collective set was an incredible experience. I did my best to create a home where you can feel at home, even if you are very far from it – a home where you are invited to participate and express your feelings. A home that I want to believe is the cinema.”
Birthday party is funded by the Greek Film Center, ICEC, the Netherlands Film Fund and the Global Screen Fund BFI and supporters include Kalamata Films, Eolo Films, Ekome, ERT, Hopeless Romantic, Osmyx Film Clinic and Front Stage.
Jimenéz’s credits include 2020 Window to the seain which Suarez played the leading role, Ori And Chaika and documentaries Days of El Abanico And A God in every lens.
Previous accolades for Greek powerhouse Heretic include three Oscar nominations Triangle of sadness and BAFTA winner How to have sexRecent titles include Rotterdam and Tribeca Swimming home by Justin Anderson, starring Ralph Fiennes The return by Uberto Pasolini, Pablo Larraín’s competition title in Venice Mary And Hot milk by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, whose market launch is planned for early 2025.
