Happy Birthday

When Athenian riot police officer Yiorgos spots his teenager daughter Margarita protesting at a violent, anti-government demonstration, it creates a rift between the two that seems nearly impossible to bridge. Yiorgos’s concerned wife suggests that the two take a trip to the family’s country home, giving the estranged father and daughter the chance to salvage what’s left of their bond. But hardheaded Margarita is less than enthusiastic about spending time with her dad, whom she views with flat-out disdain. While Yiorgos’s initial attempts to win his daughter’s sympathy have little effect, a dramatic series of events forces the seeming polar opposites to reexamine what it is that’s been tearing them apart, and what unites them. (Palm Springs International Film Festival)