
About
Sophie E. Constantinou
Overview
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.
Known for
Acting |
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CMC Young Musicians Program: Mission District youth find focus, follow dreams | Actor | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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To See One's Self | Actor | Director | N/A N/A |
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Directing |
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2021 | Say Their Names | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2016 | Collaboration: Ron Padgett | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2009 | Between the Lines | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
2001 | Divided Loyalties | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
1994 | Trans | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
Parks Conservancy | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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African Americans and the Vote | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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The Labor of Lunch | Directing | Co-Director | N/A N/A |
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Youcubed | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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African American Historical Society – Migration Stories | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Harlem of the West: Then and Now | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Imperfection Salad | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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We Hunger For… | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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One: Affinity - Kenward Elmslie | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Prolific: Joe Brainard | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Chop Shop: A Community & Law Enforcement Conversation | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Wanda | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Live this Loudly: Afatasi | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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To Feed And Be Fed | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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The Two Eighty Project | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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The Arc SF | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Just Produce/Food Justice | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Radically Inclusive - Founders - GLIDE Living Legacy | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Resilient Richmond | Directing | Director | N/A N/A |
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Production |
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2016 | Collaboration: Ron Padgett | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
2015 | Flamin’ Hot - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | The Labor of Lunch - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | The Whole World in a Small Seed - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | But Is It Replicable? - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | The Lunch Love Community Documentary Project | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | The Parent Factor - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | If They Cook It, They Will Eat It - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2010 | Feeding the Body Politic - Lunch Love Community | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
2001 | Divided Loyalties | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
1991 | Presumed Guilty | Production | Producer | 58 Average |
Wanda | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Prolific: Joe Brainard | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Imperfection Salad | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Just Produce/Food Justice | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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The Labor of Lunch | Production | Co-Producer | N/A N/A |
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To Feed And Be Fed | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Ian James Made | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Youcubed | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Immigrants Rising | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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A Local Legacy: Black-Owned Businesses | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Joann Sfar Draws from Memory | Production | Producer | N/A N/A |
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Sound |
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Ian James Made | Sound | Sound | N/A N/A |
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Camera |
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2016 | Collaboration: Ron Padgett | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
2015 | The Royal Road | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
2014 | Regarding Susan Sontag | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
2009 | 575 Castro St. | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
2006 | Maquilapolis | Camera | Director of Photography | 59 Average |
2005 | Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
2005 | The Joy of Life | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
2004 | Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
2003 | Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Camera | Director of Photography | 59 Average |
2002 | Presumed Guilty: Tales of the Public Defenders | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
2001 | Divided Loyalties | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
1991 | Presumed Guilty | Camera | Director of Photography | 58 Average |
To Feed And Be Fed | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Just Produce/Food Justice | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Joann Sfar Draws from Memory | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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The Labor of Lunch | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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The Rifleman’s Violin | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Imperfection Salad | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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A Foot in the Door | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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The Arc SF | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Wanda | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Prolific: Joe Brainard | Camera | Director of Photography | N/A N/A |
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Crew |
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2019 | What We Carry With Us: Refugee Storylabs | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
2018 | American Creed | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
2009 | Race to Nowhere | Crew | Cinematography | 59 Average |
2008 | Balancing Acts: A Jewish Theatre in The Soviet Union | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
2008 | Hats Off | Crew | Cinematography | 59 Average |
2004 | One Wedding and a Revolution | Crew | Cinematography | 58 Average |
2002 | Hope Along the Wind: The Story of Harry Hay | Crew | Cinematography | 58 Average |
T-Shirts Manifesto | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Life Outside the U.S. — Transcending the American Dream | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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We Hunger For… | Crew | Creator | N/A N/A |
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Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Youcubed | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Ian James Made | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Wanda | Crew | Creator | N/A N/A |
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In the Maze of Our Own Lives | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Under Their Skin | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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CMC Teen Jazz Orchestra: Cultivating respect and self expression through music | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Students Respond to American Creed | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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A Living Room Conversation: Mark Meckler and Joan Blades | Crew | Cinematography | N/A N/A |
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Editing |
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2001 | Divided Loyalties | Editing | Editor | N/A N/A |