HONEYMOON
Alkis Papastathopoulos
Greece / Cyprus
Sandra is travelling with Fay, helping her catch a bus that will take her out of the country, when a transphobic attack leaves them both stranded in the middle of nowhere.
SYNOPSIS
Fay and Sandra, two trans women, are travelling by bus across the country. After a traumatising event involving the cops, Fay is leaving Greece for good and Sandra accompanies her to the bus station, taking this time as a chance to say goodbye. As they are trying to reach their destination, a transphobic attack by two co-passengers forces them both to leave the bus. Stranded in the middle of a highway and with the clock ticking, their relationship will get tested as they are trying to catch Fay’s bus on time. In the midst of their frantic road trip, they realise that now is their last chance to be honest about each other’s feelings.
INTENTION
My work focuses on queer narratives and through my films I tell stories that shed light on identities that deviate from the normative spectrum. As a Greek, non-binary director, I am very invested in exploring different aspects of being queer in the midst of the Balkans, and how that unique embodied experience can translate into film. Τhe triggering event that sadly was the starting point for this film was the death of the Greek queer activist, Zak Kostopoulos, who was killed by a group of men and the police force. His loss, and the lack of any justice to this day, remains an unhealed wound for me and my community. In an attempt to ease the pain, I decided to use cinema as a tool to right the wrong, and create a story with a different ending than the one I wasn’t able to change in real life. That’s how Honeymoon was born, a film aspiring to be a femme for femme anthem that speaks about queer love and female solidarity. The story ultimately deals with the dilemma of leaving a harsh place for somewhere better or staying back and fighting for the people you love and in a sense the two main characters, Fay and Sandra, are two sides of the same coin. Honeymoon is a trans-feminist love story that raises issues of bodily autonomy and celebrates the right to fight back against the ever-growing violence in contemporary societies. But above all, it’s a road movie about two very brave girls who realise that the most important thing is to have each other.
DIRECTOR
Alkis Papastathopoulos
Alkis Papastathopoulos is a queer filmmaker from Greece who holds an MA degree in film studies from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. They are a Sundance Institute and Sarajevo Talents alumnus. Their short films have been awarded in international film festivals such as Indie Memphis FF, Athens Int. FF and Cinema Verde. Together with Maria Hatzakou, they developed Sleepover, a series that won the HBO Europe award for the Best TV Series project at Midpoint TV Launch.
PRODUCER
Maria Hatzakou
Maria Hatzakou is a writer, director, producer and a Sundance alumna. Her producing credits amongst others include Attenberg, Alps, Chevalier and Digger. In 2011 she was selected for the EFP’s “Producers on the Move”. In 2021 she founded her own production company Merricat Film.
Genre
Drama
Length
29 min
Language
Greek
Shooting location
Athens, Corinthos & Thiva, Greece
Production companies
Merricat Film (Greece), AbFab Productions (Greece), Tornos Productions LTD (Cyprus)
Estimated budget
€65.000
Secured funding
Ministry of Culture - Greek Film Center (GFC) - €20.000, ERT.S.A (Microfilm Programme) - €22.000, AbFab Productions - €5.000, Tomos Productions LTD - €2.000, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation - €8.000, private investment - €2.000
Looking for
Post-Production, Sales, Distribution, Festivals