(Exclusive) Meet the team behind Koupepia: a trans tale of connection

DIVA chatted with Sophia Vi and Yorgo Glynatsis about this touching short film

BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGES PROVIDED

Blending food, family and identity into one tender cinematic experience, Koupepia has been making waves on the festival circuit. The intimate short – written by and starring Sophia Vi, and directed by Yorgo Glynatsis – tells the story of a trans Greek-Cypriot woman connecting with her friend’s father over the ritual of making stuffed vine leaves.

With 25+ festival selections, multiple awards, and BAFTA/BIFA qualification ahead of awards season, Koupepia stands out as a deeply personal and timely exploration of queerness, diaspora and belonging. We sat down with Sophia and Yorgo to talk about authenticity, community and trans representation on screen.

Koupepia is such an intimate story. What inspired this film and the conversations we see take place?

Sophia: The original inspiration was that I was curious about how people connect when they don’t have anything in common. Finding common ground with people who are from different backgrounds is a huge struggle I see within the Queer and Trans+ community. It’s also a struggle I see reflected in the diasporic and immigrant community. So as a diasporic transgender woman how am I able to find common ground and connect with anyone? 

I feel that is something we are continually trying to do on a daily basis: connect with people, find community and ultimately feel safe. 

For me food has always been something that brings people together. Setting it in a corner of an engagement party over a plate of Koupepia seemed like the perfect place for two unlikely people to meet.

Yorgo: Sophia and I were both dancers and performers years ago, and we reconnected about three years ago when I invited her to a screening of my first queer short film Trigger (now streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV as part of the queer collection These Untold Secrets). Shortly after, she sent me an early draft of Koupepia. I was immediately drawn to the relationship between Petros (played by Peter Polycarpou) and Michael ( played by Alexander Theo). It mirrors my own experience with my father: he loves me deeply, but still struggles to openly celebrate me as a queer man.

What also resonated was the cultural lens. As someone who is half Greek, born in Belgium and living in London for over a decade, I rarely see stories that reflect Greek Cypriot diaspora families with nuance and authencity. As a director, I’m constantly searching for stories that feel truthful, layered, and challenge the stereotypes we’ve seen on screen. Koupepia does that beautifully: it celebrates trans and queer joy, explores generational love and discomfort, and gives space to characters who are rarely centred in films.

The film centres around the simple act of making koupepia – why did you choose this particular food as the heart of the story?

Sophia: As diasporic Cypriot myself, Koupepia fascinates me. Very similar to a Dolma (a rolled vine leaf stuffed with rice and spices), Koupepia is the unique word for a dolma that is only used in Cyprus. It’s also a food that hides what’s inside – you don’t know what you’re getting until you take a bite. It is a food that can subvert expectations and therefore was perfect to place between a diasporic and immigrant Cypriot, who both have preconceived ideas of each other. 

How do you both define “authentic storytelling” when it comes to queer and trans narratives?

Sophia: Authentic storytelling, for me, is about letting the person whose story it is be in the driving seat. Often we find someone’s story or identity co-opted within the development or production stage of film making. The film industry is still majority run by cisgender, heterosexual, white men – yet they continue to make movies with trans+ narratives, claiming to give “representation” on stage or screen and in many cases leading to stereotyped tropes often to the detriment of the community. Authentic storytelling is about opportunity – letting us, whose story it is, shape the final product with our unique understanding and experience of the world.

Yorgo: For me, authentic storytelling means portraying queer and trans characters without resorting to stereotypes or trauma as the only narrative. It’s about reframing what we’ve been taught to expect from LGBTQIA+ stories on screen.

Authenticity starts with who tells the story: the writer, director, producer but it also lives in who’s on set, who’s in front of the camera, and whether they feel safe enough to bring their truth to the character. I want to represent the full spectrum of our community: different ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, languages, accents and identities.

With Koupepia, it was crucial to honour both the Greek Cypriot diaspora and the queer and trans experience without caricature or romanticisation. It’s about showing real people, real families, real love.

Authentic queer storytelling often faces challenges in funding and production — how did you navigate those hurdles while staying true to the story’s heart?

Sophia: I agree! Authentic Queer Storytelling is not getting funded! After being unsuccessful from quite a few different funding platforms Yorgo and myself set out to get Koupepia made. It was a combination of very limited personal funds and asking A LOT of favours (or as we like to call it “investment in kind”). There were many generous people who cared about this project and wanted to see it made! From cameras and equipment, locations and even the amazing Maria made us fresh Koupepia each day which she brought to set every morning – she is far better at making Koupepia than I am! 

You partnered with Trans+ On Screen – why was that important to you?

Sophia: As a member of Trans+ On Screen I felt it was important that even as a trans woman myself and a producers on Koupepia, I still wanted to make sure we were doing everything possible to create a production where the Trans+ community felt safe and able to do their job without fear. 

Yorgo: Partnering with Trans+ On Screen allowed us to ensure that trans creatives were not only visible, but centred in the filmmaking process.

Helios, the founder, was on set to monitor the wellbeing and safety of our trans team members, and that made a huge difference. We’re proud that around 90% of our cast and crew were queer, and a third were from trans identity. My hope is that more productions adopt this approach as a standard for creating safer, more inclusive workplaces.

In an era when trans and queer communities are being targeted globally, what do you hope audiences take away from Koupepia? 

Sophia: It’s interesting reflecting back on when I first wrote Koupepia in 2022.  If I were to write Koupepia now I think it would be a very different film. The world seems to have become so much less tolerant and forgiving, where having two opposing identities connect over food now seems like a very fictional idea. 

My hope is that Koupepia will encourage cisgender people to step up and take action – because the trans+ community needs you now.   

Yorgo: Koupepia is ultimately a story about love, acceptance and celebration and not just tolerance. It reminds us that we all share the same desire to belong, to be seen, and to be loved by our families.

Petros (played by Peter Polycarpou) in the film, learns to unlearn, to listen, to choose love over fear and is an invitation to all of us. We can confront our own biases, heal relationships, and meet each other at the table over something as simple and meaningful as a plate of koupepia (Dolmades).

Find out more about Koupepia here.

Love media made by and for LGBTQIA+ women and gender diverse people? Then you’ll love DIVA. We’ve been spotlighting the community for over 30 years. Here’s how you can get behind queer media and keep us going for another generation: linkin.bio/ig-divamagazine

Did you know that DIVA has now become a charity? Our magazine is published by the DIVA Charitable Trust. You can find out more about the organisation and how you can offer your support here: divacharitabletrust.com