MARIOS PAVLOU

The project is especially honouring the memory of Zak Kostopoulos, a queer activist and human rights defender in Greece, who died on 21 September 2018 following a violent attack. Zak, also known by his drag stage name Zackie Oh!, was a defender of the rights of LGBTQ people and HIV-positive persons. It has been more than two years that Zak was murdered, but his death still has not been brought to justice. The criminal investigation resulted in charging two civilians and four police officers with deadly bodily harm. Many are concerned with the apathy of the authorities in Zak’s case, and the persistent systemic failings in investigations concerning cases of police violence in Greece. Informally renamed Zackie Oh after Kostopoulos’s drag queen persona, the pedestrian side street where he was murdered is now a symbol of the fight for justice in a case that has not only exposed profound homophobia in Greece but a culture of “abuse and impunity” in its police force. #Justice4ZakZackie  An activist of the LGBTQI community, he pioneered the rights of HIV-positive people. After all, being gay and HIV-positive, he was one of the first to speak openly about HIV-positiveness and the stigma that surrounds these people. Zak Kostopoulos, had worked in an HIV prevention center while he was also conducting a drag show. He often wrote about human rights, sexuality and HIV on the Internet. In previous statements, in fact, he had confessed that he had been attacked on the street by strangers, while in an interview a year before the bloody robbery attempt he said that "when you see someone being attacked, why do you look away? I'm not saying fight because I do not fight back either, but you can use your voice. To do something, to react in some way ".

In addition to that, the project is also dedicated to the presence and LGBTQ pioneer figure Paola Revenioti, a Greek trans woman, filmmaker, publisher, artist and activist of the Greek LGBTQ movement. From a young age and due to the social exclusion of trans people from any job, she made a living as a sex worker. Her contribution to the rights of queer people in Greece is considered tremendous and she is often mentioned as a legend of Athenian trans culture. She published the magazine “Kraximo” from 1982 to 1993, featuring articles on international and domestic political and social movements giving a voice to the demands of homosexual citizens through interviews alongside artistic photographs of naked men, which made their mark yet were accompanied by arrests and trials. In 2014 she released a documentary film entitled “Kaliarnta” – a glossary / secret language of and for the homosexuals & transvestites of the 60’s in Greece. In the 90s she organised the first Gay Pride in Athens, she helped fight against AIDS as one of the founding members of the Greek team of the international activist organization ACT UP. In 2003 he was elected President of the Transvestite Transgender Greek Solidarity Association (SATTE), through which he acted in favor of the rights of trans people.

​

Dimitri/a Kalogiannis, lived her life in Skala Skamnias, a conservative Greek fishing village in Lesvos where she was born. She nursed her dying parents and now lives alone, able, at last to enjoy her femininity. Misunderstood by family but celebrated by journalists covering the refugee crisis in Lesvos, her will for life and resilience is trully captivating. Gently observed and interviewed by Tzeli Hadjidimitriou , a greek Lesbian filmmaker similarly aware of what it means to grow up different in a narrow minded patriarchic community, their shared humanity and mutual respect shine through a biographical film that can be found on YouTube with the title: “Mr.Dimitris and Mrs. Dimitroula”. Transgender Greek, Dimitri Kalogiannis, missing since April 6 2021, was apparently the victim of a hit and run three days after disappearing. The director and founder of Silver Alert has been bombarded with assaults as to why the alert was delayed more than seven weeks. Elderly and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, it appeared the transgender Greek had been marginalized. In December 2020, local teens broke into Kalogiannis’ home in Skala Sykamnia. They uploaded videos jumping on furniture and shouting at her. Kalogiannis has ping ponged from chronic incarceration in clinics and years of being fed psychotropic medication to adjust the chemical makeup of her brain and nervous system. These medications were recommended to her family to treat her “mental illness” -declaring herself a female although she has the physical anatomy of a male. Fast forward 40 years and society has finally understood that gender identity and sexuality are not conditions to be fixed.

​