Biography

Sophie Constantinou is a film director, cinematographer and producer. Co-founder of Citizen Film, a documentary production nonprofit based in San Francisco, Constantinou creates documentaries at the intersection of storytelling and community engagement. At Citizen Film, Constantinou has worked on the Community Leadership Series (2003-2013), Joann Sfar Draws from Memory (2012), Lunch Love Community (2014), GLIDE’s Values series (2014-2024), and Narrative Shift (2021-2024), primarily as the Director of Photography. Independent of Citizen Film, she worked as Director and Cinematographer on Frameline selection Trans (1994), Between the Lines (1997), which was distributed on the Sundance Channel, and Divided Loyalties (1999). She filmed The Joy of Life (2005) and The Royal Road (2015), both official selections of the Sundance Film Festival in their respective years. She was also the director of photography for PBS documentary Presumed Guilty (2000), PBS/POV film Maquilapolis (2006), and HBO documentary Unchained Memories (2004). She filmed Emmy Award-winning Home Front (2001) and HBO documentary Regarding Susan Sontag (2014). Her work is acclaimed for tackling complex issues with artistry and sensitivity while catalyzing place-based change and creating healthy, sustainable communities. Since 2010, she has worked in San Francisco’s Western Addition on a series of films, engagement initiatives, and education programs bringing attention to the inequities of the neighborhood’s predominantly Black community. These projects include Buchanan Stories / Buchanan Change and Green Streets. She is also the founder of the Bernal Cut Project, a community-led biodiversity initiative to transform 16 acres of inner city open space into a habitat corridor and immersive learning.

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