Panos Koutras - Strella aka A Woman's Way (2009)

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An extraordinary and spellbinding relationship, a post-modern Greek tragedy in the glowing nights of Athens.

Yiorgos is released after having served a 14-year sentence for a murder he committed in his native village. He spends his first night of freedom at a cheap hotel in the centre of Athens where he meets a transsexual prostitute named Strella. They sleep together and are soon a couple. Yiorgos’ past catches up with him, but with Strella at his side, he hopes to be able to find a way out.
“STRELLA is the kind of story told at dinner parties, a kind of urban legend. These stories usually capture an element of mass consciousness, making direct references to archetypical myths, most often Greek. Which is exactly what STRELLA’s heroes are: Greeks, living in a country both ancient and contemporary, where the need for a new European identity and a new value system is more pressing than ever.” (Production notes)
Having been rejected by state funding bodies, Panos H. Koutras was obliged to make his film without any financial support whatsoever. All the major production companies also turned him down. And so STRELLA became a completely independent production; filmed over a period of almost ten months, nearly all the roles are played by non-professionals.

berlinale.de

Strella: A Woman's Way is one of those films that is so amazing that I want to just flat-out recommend it to everyone without saying more, because it's just that good that walking in blind would be an awesome way to see it. But, I can understand that you might want a little more to go on so I'll give you more. Centred on the unlikely relationship between the recently released from prison Yiorgos (Yannis Kokiasmenos) and transsexual prostitute Strella (Mina Orfanou). After they run into each other at a hotel in Athens, their lives begin to intertwine with ease and their relationship grows deeper. As the film moves on we are privy to an epic modern day tragedy that is remarkably told through brilliant storytelling. The story is quite honestly, and literally, perfect as it sensitively portrayed by the stunning cast. Yannis Kokiasmenos is charismatic and bold as Yiorgos and Mina Orfanou is compelling and complex in the role of Strella. I felt for them deeply, through each step on their journey. Absolutely spectacular.

Inside Out

When an ex-con meets a young transvestite hooker, they soon discover they share more than a talent for rewiring lamps. After 15 years in the pen, the trim and muscled Yiorgos settles in Athens to look for his estranged son and winds up in bed with Strella (whose getup looks like a cross between Maria Callas and Cher). The good-hearted Strella sings in a low-rent cabaret, cares for a cancer-ridden queen, and generally looks out for waifs and strays. The plot involves a surprising twist that may shock some. Riffing on Greek mythology, writer-director Panos Koutras improbably defies the taboos of the ancients (and the “curse of every tranny”) to create a happy alternative family. Along the way, this independently made production combines dingy realism, the divine Maria Callas, plenty of nudity, gay sex, and campy dialogue.

SIFF