Athena Xenidou is a Cypriot producer, writer and director. She is the co-founder of XMAS Productions, a company aiming at producing entertainment for local and international distribution. Xenidou is now in development of Socrates & Soc, a feature-length animated film. She has co-written the screenplay with Barry Cook (director of Walt Disney’s Mulan

Mulan

Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...

), and she is to co-direct the film once in production.

Education

After receiving a Diploma in Music from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music

ABRSM is an internationally recognised educational body and charity that provides examinations in music The organisation, based in London, UK, runs exams in centres all over the world...

, London, Xenidou went on to study English Literature, Music and Theatre for two years at the University of Fribourg

University of Fribourg

The University of Fribourg is a university in the city of Fribourg, Switzerland.The roots of the University can be traced back to 1582, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg. In 1763, an Academy of law was founded by the state of Frobourg...

 in Switzerland. Xenidou then moved to Los Angeles, California and in 1996 she received her BA in Film Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Barbara

The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...

.
During her studies at the University of California, she co-produced Dead End, her first short film, which received ‘Best Project in Humanities and Arts at the University of California’ award. She then wrote and directed her own short film, The Made Guy, which received Best Cinematography award at the UCSB Short Film Festival. After graduation, she produced another short film, Tripwire, with the American Film Institute

American Film Institute

The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...

 in Los Angeles.

Work

She worked as Art Director in feature films starring Maurizzio Migheli and Bad City Blues, starring Dennis Hopper.
In 2001, she produced and directed her first feature film, Unwitnessed Memories which won the Special Jury Remi Award at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, the oldest film festival in the USA. Unwitnessed Memories was an Official Selection and received Special Mentions at festivals around the world, such as the Int’l Human Rights Film Festival

Human Rights Film Festival

Human Rights Film Festival is an annually-held Zagreb-based film festival founded in 2003. The festival is run by two prominent Croatian independent cultural organizations - the Multimedia Institute and Culture Development Association ....

 in Prague, the Int’l Festival of Visual Arts in Hungary, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival

Thessaloniki International Film Festival

The Thessaloniki International Film Festival has become one of the Balkans' primary showcases for the work of new and emerging filmmakers...

, Greece, Viewpoint Int’l Documentary Film Festival in Belgium and the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. It won Best Documentary at the Film Festival in Cyprus and was also an International Emmy Awards semi-finalist.
In 2003, she accepted an offer from Fremantle SA, to direct reality TV series in Athens, Greece. She directed two seasons of Survivor (TV series)

Survivor (TV series)

Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...

and two seasons of The Farm (TV series)

The Farm (TV series)

The Farm is a reality TV show created by Swedish producer Strix. Sold to more than 40 countries, The Farm is one of their most popular formats, including Survivor, The Bar or Fame Factory. In some countries the series is produced by Endemol, in association with Strix.Like Big Brother format, The...

, two of the most popular shows in Greek television history.

General

Xenidou was a member of the jury for the International Emmy Awards from 2001 to 2006.
In 2004 she was invited by the European Union as a film professional at the Cannes Film Festival.

Since 2007, Xenidou has been working mostly in theatre. Her collaboration with the Cyprus National Theatre –directing The Shadow Box – resulted in receiving Best Male Actor Award at the National Theatre Awards. She then went on to direct The Vagina Monologues

The Vagina Monologues

The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...

. She is now to direct Art.

Filmography

• DEAD END - producer

(42 minutes, 16mm, color)
'Category:' Drama

Year of Production: 1995

Production budget in Euro: 35,000

Co-producers: University of California, USA

Prize: University of California Grant for Best Project in Humanities and Fine Arts

THE MADE GUY - producer/writer/director
(12 minutes, 16mm, color)

Category: Drama/Suspense

Year of Production: 1996

Production budget in Euro: 9,000

Co-producers: University of California, USA

Prize: Best Cinematography at UCSB Short Film Festival, USA

TRIPWIRE -producer
(27 minutes, 16mm, color)

Category: Drama/War

Year of Production: 1997

Production budget in Euro: 42,000

Co-producers: American Film Institute, USA

Distribution territories: IFC Independent Film Channel, USA

UNWITNESSED MEMORIES - producer/writer/director
(60 minutes, 35mm, color)

Category: Documentary

Year of Production: 2000

Production budget in Euro: 110,000

Co-producers: SIGMA TV and Radio, Cyprus, LUMIERE, Cyprus

Distribution territories: Cyprus, and Greece

Selection at Festivals: International Human Rights Film Festival,Czech Republic, International Festival of Visual Arts, Hungary, Int’l Film Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece,
Viewpoint Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Belgium, Int’l Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, Holland
International Film Festival in Cyprus
International Emmy Awards semi-finalist