Project Detail

Constantinopoliad

Hands opening the small cover pages of a book, with the title 'Constantinopoliad' above, and text revealed within the pages.
Behind a gauze curtain people wearing headphones and looking down at the books on the table infront of them.
a hand-made book on a table, with a desk lamp above it, orange light reflecting off the pages.
The sillouettes of people through a gauze curtain, reading books in a green light.

Synopsis

Constantinopoliad is an expanded documentary and installation that centers around the collective reading of a hand-made book. A response to the archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the story is inspired by the blank and torn out pages in “Constantinopoliad, an epic”, the journal the teenage Cavafy began when he and his family fled Alexandria; by lost and missing queer archives through time; and by the ghosts, both erotic and historical, that visit the older Cavafy in his poems.
Official Selection Venice International Film Festival 2025 - Immersive
Official Selection CPH:DOX 2025 - Inter:Active Award - Winner

Details

Year
2025
Type of project
XR / Immersive
Running time
55 min
Format
Installation
Director
sister sylvester and Nadah El Shazly
Producer
sister sylvester
Co-Producer
Onassis ONX
Executive Producer
sister sylvester
Editor
sister sylvester
Screenwriter
sister sylvester
Production Designer
sister sylvester and Efrin Ozyetis
Sound
Nadah El Shazly
Composer
Nadah El Shazly
Principal cast
sister sylvester and Nadah El Shazly
Illustration and book co-design
Efrîn Ozyetis
Lighting
Cosette (Ettie) Pin
Slides
Jeremy Kadetsky based on a design by Tei Blow
Dramaturgy
Andrew Kircher
Produced by
sister sylvester
Associate Produced by
Julia Solomonoff, Marin Day

Production Status

Production Company

Sales Company

Page updates

This page was last updated on 20th January 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

A Distant Call A Distant Call

Director: Andrea Suwito

Year: 2026

In the ancient Bugis way of life in Indonesia, gender non-binary ‘bissu’ were once revered spiritual leaders. Eka, one of the last remaining bissu, decides to leave behind their identity, searching for belonging in a world that insists on definitions.

Solstice on Grímsey Island Nation

Director: Nikolai Galitzine

Year: 2026

When a church burns down in a storm, a remote arctic community come together to preserve their identity as they face an uncertain future.

A reality TV presenter speaks to the camera, looking directly into the lens. Tops

Director: Ames Pennington

Year: 2024

A fun pastiche of chaotic, brash, self-deprecating and clueless 1990s/2000s British reality TV, TOPS sees self-proclaimed future award-winning filmmaker Ames Pennington present their landmark faux-documentary. Casting themselves as an invasive TV presenter, Ames goes on a satirical odyssey through the lives and homes of four unique individuals, exploring the crucial question that defines the transmasc experience: “What TOP did you want to wear after TOP surgery?” Official Selection BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival 2024 - World premiere Official Selection Kashish Pride Film Festival 2024 - International premiere