New Trailer for ‘The Birthday Party’ Island Drama with Willem Dafoe

by Alex Billington
April 23, 2026
Source: YouTube

“Your future is lying there. Pick it up.” Quiver Distr. has debuted their official trailer for the film titled The Birthday Party, directed by Spanish filmmaker Miguel Ángel Jiménez (of Seagull, The Night Watchman, Window to the Sea). This originally premiered at the Locarno Film Festival last year (we posted the trailer then, too) and is now set for US release in June this summer. Willem Dafoe stars as Marcos Timoleon, a wealthy Greek businessman, who’s hosting his daughter’s 25th birthday party on his own island. Unforeseen events unfold, jeopardizing his power and challenging his entire life’s foundations. It’s set in the late 1970s, somewhere in the Mediterranean, where Marcos Timoleon, an Aristotle Onassis-like tycoon, is throwing a lavish, extravagant birthday for his daughter and sole heiress. The filmmaker explains: “The Birthday Party is a film about power, legacy, love mistaken for possession, and the quiet violence within privilege – set on a paradise island that slowly reveals itself as a prison.” Along with Dafoe, this stars Vic Carmen Sonne, Joe Cole, Emma Suárez, Christos Stergioglou, Antonis Tsiotsiopoulos, and Elsa Lekakou. I’m very intrigued by this film – especially with Dafoe as Dad handling this prickly & complex lead role. Have a look.

Here’s the new US trailer (+ poster) for Miguel Ángel Jiménez’s film The Birthday Party, from YouTube:

You can rewatch the original trailer for Jiménez’s The Birthday Party film right here for the first look again.

Set in the 1970s somewhere in the Mediterranean, where Marcos Timoleon (Willem Dafoe), an Aristotle Onassis-like tycoon, is throwing a lavish, extravagant birthday party for Sofia (Vic Carmen Sonne), his daughter & sole heiress, on his exclusive private island. The party is a perfect excuse for various people to approach him with their own agendas. But Marcos, who is used to ruthlessly controlling everything and everyone around him at whatever cost, is also secretly plotting a big decision. Sofia, however, has come to share some important news of her own. As guests start pouring in & night falls, the party grows rowdier and more decadent, while the inevitable clash between Marcos & Sofia reaches a heartbreaking climax. The Birthday Party is directed by acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Miguel Ángel Jiménez, of the films Ori, Seagull, The Night Watchman, A God in Each Lentil, and Window to the Sea previously. The screenplay is written by Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Giorgos Karnavas, Nicos Panagiotopoulos. Based on the novel by Panos Karnezis. Produced by Heretic, Fasten Films, Lemming Film, & Raucous Pictures. This initially premiered at the 2025 Locarno Film Festival last year and at a few other film festivals around Europe. Quiver will release Jiménez’s The Birthday Party film in select US theaters + on VOD starting June 5th, 2026 this summer.

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