Synopsis
After the murder of Greek LGBTQI+ activist Zak Kostopoulos, his childhood friend Sophia Farantatou finds herself in the middle of an impasse, between the media storytelling and the archive footage she shot with him. Only time can give her the space to mourn and come to terms with the absence of her friend.
A word from Tënk
Bitter September. “September” for the month the director should have been celebrating her birthday. “Bitter” like the fruit of the Seville orange trees that symmetrically line the streets of Athens. The city's residents know not to eat them.
Sofia Farantatou’s approach underscores how deeply personal experiences are political. Not only because her childhood friend Zak, brutally murdered, became a posthumous symbol of the Athenian queer community, but above all because she chooses to keep the devouring imagery of media narratives off-screen—or even erase it entirely. She offers her own account of events, giving shape to her friend’s memory and, in doing so, seeking justice for his unjust passing.
In crisis over her faith in the camera, Sofia is angry. Angry at the journalistic cameras that endlessly repeat Zak’s name, that consume his image, that distort any sense of direction. She holds onto his commitment and the vibrancy of their shared memories as her compass. And that, no one can take away from her.
Olia Verriopoulou
Director and programmer
