Jason Xenopoulos

Jason Xenopoulos () is an award-winning film director, write and producer, and .

Biography

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, he grew up with a successful businessman for a father. Determined to follow a different path by becoming a filmmaker, he spent four years studying film and television at New York University and returned to South Africa. However, finding it almost impossible to secure funding for hiss first script, he packed the script away and became an internet entrepreneur, co-founding VWV Interactive, one of South Africa's first internet businesses and NATIVE which rapidly grew to be Africa's leading digital marketing agency. Under Jason’s leadership, NATIVE (now VMLY&R South Africa) won a host of local and international awards including being named Entertainment Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions and Agency of the Year twice by the IAB.

In addition to his creative awards, Jason was named "All Africa Entrepreneur of the Year" by [CNBC]] and "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the SA Jewish Report.

Having judged the Branded Entertainment category at Cannes Lions, Jason and his jury co-authored the book, The Art of Branded Entertainment, which made it onto the Amazon Bestsellers list.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

His love of the medium has led him to continue working in film industry as writer, producer and director. Among his achievements here have been:

He wrote and directed Promised Land (2002) and directed Critical Assignment (2002).

Critical Assignment was selected as the Opening Night Screening at the 11th New York African Film Festival and went on to win the Jury Award at the Hollywood Black Film Festival and the award for Best West African Picture at the Screen National Film & TV Awards in London.

He was a second unit director for the TV film Sword of Xanten (2004), Les deux mondes (2007), Doomsday (2008) and the Tony Mitchell film Flood (2008) and in 2020 was executive producer for the video short Marchosias.