Greece, 1977. A proposed law brings gay men and “transvestites” together in a historic event and sparks the creation of the first Greek LGBT movement. For the next 13 years, AKOE and its magazine Amfi, would define the way LGBT Greeks think about themselves. This film celebrates their story and legacy.
Paola, Betty and Eva are three trans women in their 60s who have known each other for more than forty years. All three of them started making their living early in their youth as sex workers in Athens, Greece. In “The Oleanders” Betty Vakalidou, Eva Koumarianou & Paola Revenioti revisit all the different places in the city where they used to work, socialize, get harassed or arrested by the cops, fight for their rights, have fun and find love. The unapologetic, humorous, and empowering discussion between Eva, Betty & Paola is a history of Athens as well as a history of sexuality in this region.
Paola Revenioti and the filmmaking team Paola Team Documentaries present their first documentary feature. Kaliardáwas the secret language of the homosexual community in Greece, from the 40s until the first years following the fall of the dictatorship in the mid-70s. Paola became acquainted with the use of kaliardá towards its end, in the 80s. We started out with an aim to record the history of kaliardá, but along the way we realized we were recording the history of the homosexual community in Greece during the twentieth century. Themes started emerging, such as love, sexuality, hangouts, problems faced by people at the time and how conditions gradually changed. In the documentary, we speak with academics and people from the street who have first-hand experience of our topic.
A look at “Greek love” and the reality of homosexuality in Greece in 1991. Leaders of the once-called GLBT movement (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender) or simply people who dared to stand in front of the camera and speak about their lives, paint us a clear portrait – a bigger picture that might not have changed much in the last three decades.
Paola Revenioti, known as Paola, is a Greek trans woman, filmmaker, publisher, artist, activist and pioneering figure of the Greek LGBT movement. From a young age and due to the social exclusion of transgender people from any work, she made a living as a sex worker. Her contribution to the rights of LGBT people in Greece is considered great and she is often remembered as a "legend" of Athenian trans culture.
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