2014 Angel Film Awards - Monaco International Film Festival angel film awards

Angel Film Awards President of Jury Zeudi Araya Cristaldi


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Zeudi Araya was born in Decamerè, Eritrea. At a very young age she was elected as Miss Ethiopia and then noticed by the Italian Cinema environment.

Zeudi’s first movie, "La Ragazza dalla Pelle di Luna", was directed by Luigi Scattini. Due to that extraordinary success Zeudi shot in a few years five movies as a leading actress among which "La Preda" and "La Peccatrice".

With Franco Cristaldi as the producer Zeudi shot, among others, movies such as"Il Signor Robinson" with Paolo Villaggio, "Tesoromio" with Johnny Dorelli, "Il Giorno Prima" with Burt Lancaster , "I Paladini", and "Giallo Napoletano" with Marcello Mastroianni .

As the wife of Franco Cristaldi, and together with him, Zeudi devoted most of her efforts and time in the movie production with particular respect to masterpieces such as "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, also awarded in 1990 with the Oscar.

After her husband's death, Zeudi Araya, chairman of CristaldiFilm, and shareholder of both Cristaldifilm and Vides Cinematografica, decided to favour her activiy as producer, finalising the production of "La corsa dell'Innocente", directed by Carlo Carlei, in 1992.

Later on, in her entrepreneur activity, in 1993, she founded Zeudi and Franco Cristaldifilm, a company which produced in the same year, "Eritrea 30 anni di solitudine" an historical documentary (88 minute lenght) and a cultural documentary entitled "Gioventù e l'Europa". In 1996, she produced the movie "Marciando nel buio", directed by Massimo Spano.

Following to the acquisition of Lux Film by Cristaldifilm, Zeudi Araya devoted herself to the restoration and preservation of her huge Library of more than 500 pictures and as many documentaries, among which some of the most important classic movies of the Italian Cinema, now distributed in Italy and abroad.

In 2008, she produced the film-documentary "Franco Cristaldi and his Cinema Paradiso", based on Franco Cristaldi's professional life.

She is currently managing the oustanding Cristaldifilm Library, one of the most important in the world and realising brand new projects.