ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
20-year-old Constantina comes from a conservative Greek island. To define her queer identity and overcome social stereotypes hinges on two allies: her family and her art.

SYNOPSIS
20-year-old Constantina was born as a boy into a traditional family on the Greek island of Chios. Overcoming many of the obstacles faced by trans individuals in island communities, she became an artist with an online audience of thousands of followers. Until now, she has only appeared under the name Anthr0morph, wearing masks and exoskeletons that she makes inspired by nature's creatures and cyborg theory that calls for a rejection of rigid boundaries separating “humans” from “animals” and from “machines.”

As the film opens, we follow her on a trip to Antwerp, Belgium, to undergo facial feminization surgery. She will reveal her face for the first time to her followers after the operation. But first, she returns to Chios for Greek Easter, to share her transformation with her family—and especially her grandmother.

Through Constantina’s journey, the film explores how her family deal with her transformation. With Constantina’s transitioning, the family roles and dynamics become ever more fluid. We go back in time, when she was a boy growing up on Chios or when she began filming herself wearing faceless masks. Through home movies, polaroids, and filming, we recreate the timeline of her gradual transformation, both through her art and inside her family. Her father’s denial, her mother’s struggle to understand, the support of her three siblings and the unconstrained love of her grandmother—are defining elements.

The film aims to avoid Greek cinema conventions that traditionally focus on the sinister role of family and steer clear from transgender portrayals that convey a somber tone. It tells a story that incorporates the importance of social acceptance, highlighting queer voices, and the universal power of family.

Athens, Chios, Antwerp, London, and Iceland create a framework of urban and natural environmental contrasts, within which Constantina/Anthr0morph experiments, confronts the stereotypes of society, claims the acceptance of her family, and ultimately seeks to express herself through her art.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Angeliki Aristomenopoulou
PRODUCER Rea Postolides, Yuri Averof, Vicky Miha
CO-PRODUCER Heather Millard (Compass Films), Anda Ionescu, (Tangaj Films), Clara Harris, (Sisyphos Films)

WEBSITE anemon.gr/film/holy-human-angel