Sophie E. Constantinou

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.

Crew

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