Avant-Drag! paints portraits of ten drag artists of varying gender expressions and sexualities who take to the streets of Athens to query, problematise and (yes, please!) undermine social strictures. Employing wildly imagined personas – like riot housewives and Albanian turbo-folk girls – who perform acts as revolutionary as praising abortion and as charming as drawing childish pictures, these artists call for social justice by taking aim at conservatism, patriarchy, patriotism, racism and sexism.
A descent into the world of mourning and loss through three homicide stories that shook Greek and European society: the cruel murders of Shahzad Luqman, Pavlos Fyssas, and Zak Kostopoulos. The grieving families of the victims converse with their absences, defend the memory of the dead, and turn their suffering into a fight for justice.
For four and a half years, between 2015 – 2019, acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Avgeropoulos observed Greek society on multiple levels. As well as having exclusive access to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, he followed others, including a refugee couple from Syria and a mother whose child was murdered by Golden Dawn. The result is a unique and multiple story-lined film: a tale which evolves and unfolds with the characters over time as they face difficult decisions, even to partially achieve their goals.
Zacharias "Zak" Kostopoulos (Greek: Ζαχαρίας «Ζακ» Κωστόπουλος; 22 August 1985 – 21 September 2018) was a Greek-American activist, defending the rights of LGBT people, HIV-positive people, sex workers and refugees. He was also a drag performer under the name Zackie Oh. He was killed at the center of Athens. The trial ended on 3 May 2022, with two men having been found guilty. Zak Kostopoulos was killed on September 21, 2018, from a fatal injury in an incident that took place in the area of Omonia Square in Athens. In particular, Kostopoulos was found trapped inside a jewelry store on Gladstonos Street under unspecified circumstances. He was beaten by the shop owner and a bystander broker, mistaking him for a robber. Following the beating, the bloodied Kostopoulos was arrested by at least 8 police officers who rushed to the scene of the violent incident. Kostopoulos expired while being transported by ambulance to the hospital. After his death, protest marches and gatherings were held in various cities of Greece, while associations, parties and other organizations issued statements, mainly condemning the phenomenon of self-righteousness, which occupied the Greek public opinion for a number of months. Annual marches and commemorative events are held on September 21 in Athens, Thessaloniki and other cities.