27/08/2023
Poseidon Films was established in 1974 by Frixos Constantine as Managing Director and Michael Powell, the English film director best known for his collaboration with Emeric Pressburger, as co-director and project advisor.
Poseidon’s first production in 1976 was a dramatised documentary on the ancient legend of Atlantis, which was acquired by the BBC and is still shown today. In the same year, they proposed ‘Return to the Edge of the World’ based on a story written by Michael Powell which went on to achieve great success.
Following the success of their documentaries, Poseidon Films branched into feature film production, and in 1977, made ‘The Devil’s Men’, starring the legendary actors Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence filmed in Greece. This was quickly followed by ‘The Abductors’ and ‘The Greek Connection’, which were both well received.
In 1979, Poseidon produced ‘Anna Pavlova’ which was co-financed by the Russian Ministry of Cinema, Poseidon Films, and Paramount. After the success of their feature films, Poseidon went on to produce ‘Stalin’ for HBO – a television drama based on the life of the Russian leader, played by Robert Duvall, which won an Emmy Award.
With the arrival of Channel 4, Poseidon Films returned to making documentaries and educational series. In 1983, they produced the first documentary in the UK on the subject of Autism, followed by a documentary on Dyslexia. These two health documentaries are considered classics and are still used by Autistic societies worldwide. Other documentaries include ‘Great Russian Writers’ for Channel 4 and ‘Great Russian Composers’ for the BBC.
In 1992, Poseidon organised a very successful television season for Channel 4 showing over 24 Russian art films with great success. Between 1995 and 2000, Poseidon Films produced six educational series for Channel 4, one of which won the Educational Television Award in 1997.
In 1996, Poseidon Films co-produced a feature film with Time-Warner and BBC Theatrical called ‘The Steal’ which was a successful television hit worldwide.
In 1998, Poseidon Films extended their activities to animation, producing ‘Global Bears Rescue’ for BBC Wales and ‘The Odyssey’ and educational animation for Channel 4 and HBO.
In 2002, Poseidon Films finished a romantic comedy feature film entitled ‘The Byzantine Cat’ co-produced with East West Creative Associates in Russia.
In 2007, Poseidon finished ‘The Monastery of Death’, a documentary about the Monastery in Russia that was turned into a death camp by Stalin during the war.
In 2008, Poseidon finished ‘The White Swan’; a mini series of five episodes, it tells the life story of the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova whose obsession with dance finally drove her to her devastation. It has received rave reviews with The Daily Telegraph in London describing it as: ‘a thing of ravishing beauty with an old-fashioned charm that bears the master’s hallmark.’
Poseidon is currently in the pre-production stages of several programmes – ‘The Birth of the West’, a documentary series that will explore the legacy of the Pre-Socratic philosophers on Western civilisation. It is also in pre-production on the epic war film, ‘Night Witches’
Poseidon Films and its distribution company, Poseidon Film Distributors Ltd, are committed to producing and distributing products of the highest quality, with international appeal.
