Betty Vakalidou
Acting
Biography
Elisavet Vakalidou (known as Betty) [Ελισάβετ (Μπέττυ) Βακαλίδου, 1950] is a Greek transsexual, one of the best-known transgender people in Greece, who publicly displayed her identity and fought for the rights of homosexuals and transgender people. She participated in the founding of the first Greek homosexual movement in Greece, A.K.O.E. (Gay Liberation Movement of Greece), has written two autobiographical books and has appeared in theater and cinema. She was also nominated as "Person of the Year" (2007) during the "European Year of Equal Opportunities for All".
Known For
Mahi, an 80-years old woman, is a former military officer who underwent gender reassignment and became a singer. 50 years later, she returns from Germany to Greece to reconnect with her daughter in order to rebuild their relationship.
Mahi
Yiorgos is released from prison after 14 years of incarceration for a murder he committed in his small Greek village. He spends his first night out in a cheap downtown hotel in Athens. There he meets Strella, a young trans sex worker. They spend the night together and soon they fall in love.
Strella
Greece, 1977. A proposed law brings gay men and “transvestites” together in a historic event and sparks the creation of the first Greek LGBT movement. For the next 13 years, AKOE and its magazine Amfi, would define the way LGBT Greeks think about themselves. This film celebrates their story and legacy.
AKOE/AMFI: The Story of a Revolution (*Just to sleep on their chest…)
Between fiction and documentary, this film shows a portrait of the persona of a transsexual that goes far beyond simplistic voyeurism. The film offers a respectful image of masculine sexuality, with a character ahead of its time, through the telling of Betty about his childhood, daily life, pleasure, self-esteem and social marginalization.
Betty
Paola, Betty and Eva are three trans women in their 60s who have known each other for more than forty years. All three of them started making their living early in their youth as sex workers in Athens, Greece. In “The Oleanders” Betty Vakalidou, Eva Koumarianou & Paola Revenioti revisit all the different places in the city where they used to work, socialize, get harassed or arrested by the cops, fight for their rights, have fun and find love. The unapologetic, humorous, and empowering discussion between Eva, Betty & Paola is a history of Athens as well as a history of sexuality in this region.