Zeudi Araya

Zeudi Araya

Zeudi Araya is an Eritrean-Italian actress, singer, model, and film producer who rose to fame in 1970s Italian cinema. Crowned Miss Eritrea in 1969, she was discovered while visiting Italy and made her film debut in La ragazza dalla pelle di luna (1972), directed by Luigi Scattini. Araya quickly became a cult icon in Italian erotic and exotic dramas, often playing sensual, mysterious characters set against lush tropical backdrops. She starred in a string of stylish and provocative films throughout the decade—including The Off-Road Girl (1973), Il corpo (1974), and La peccatrice (1975)—often with soundtracks composed by Piero Umiliani. Known not just for her beauty but her magnetic screen presence, she also lent her voice to several of these films, notably singing on the soundtrack of La ragazza fuoristrada. Beyond acting, Araya’s legacy expanded through her marriage to famed Italian producer Franco Cristaldi. After his death in 1992, she took over the family company Cristaldifilm, helping preserve and promote Italian cinema classics such as Cinema Paradiso. Though she gradually stepped away from acting, she became a respected film archivist and producer. Zeudi Araya remains a unique figure in European cinema history: a trailblazing African actress who challenged stereotypes, embodied 1970s glamour, and later helped shape the future of Italian film from behind the scenes.

  • Title: Zeudi Araya
  • Popularity: 0.768
  • Known For: Acting
  • Birthday: 1951-02-10
  • Place of Birth: Decamerè, Eritrea
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: Zeudi Araya Cristaldi, Зеуди Арая Кристальди
img

Zeudi Araya Movies

  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Mr. Robinson

    Mr. Robinson

    6.1 1976 HD

    A shipwreck strands a modern Italian businessman on a desert island. Like Robinson Crusoe he must find a way to return to civilization; unlike him--he's a 20th-century man, a totally different case.

    img
  • 1972
    imgMovies

    The Girl with the Moon Skin

    The Girl with the Moon Skin

    3.125 1972 HD

    Also known as The Sinner on UK VHS, this one could almost be mistaken for a D'Amato Black Emanuelle film (as well as Jess Franco who also had a film with the same video title). The Italian title translates as The Moon-Skinned Girl, a reference to the amazingly attractive Zeudi Araya, who made two other films with the same director. As a film it really typifies the 'eurotika' of the 1970s - the story concerns a couple with marital problems who escape to the Seychelles and the husband meets - and has an affair with - the title character. The wife meanwhile meets an ex-pat living there (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart!) with whom she has a fling. The couple realise their love for each other and return home stronger for it.

    img
  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Atrocious Tales of Love and Death

    Atrocious Tales of Love and Death

    6.2 1979 HD

    Raphael, a restaurant mandolin player with a limp, a father to support, and a lot of debt, accepts a job offered by his friend, Giardino, to play a serenade under an apartment window at the behest of a mysterious blonde. As he’s playing, a man high up on a balcony is pushed to his death. Raffaele is compelled to conduct his own investigation and becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a macabre secret...

    img
  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Hearts and Armour

    Hearts and Armour

    4.786 1983 HD

    Love blossoms between crusader Bradamante—a woman knight wearing an invincible suit of armor—and Moorish prince Ruggero. But a sorceress predicts to Bradamante her beloved will die in battle at the hand of fellow Christian paladin Rolando, whom in turn is in love with Isabella, Ruggero's sister.

    img
  • 1974
    imgMovies

    The Prey

    The Prey

    2 1974 HD

    Colombia. Here lives a couple now destroyed: Betsy, alcoholic and Daniel, spianed, who is in love with an indigenous, the beautiful Nagaina, the beautiful prey with which he plans to escape.

    img
  • 1973
    imgMovies

    The Off-Road Girl

    The Off-Road Girl

    6 1973 HD

    A successful advertising journalist, embarks on a journey to Egypt where he encounters Maryam, a striking Eritrean woman whose beauty is matched only by her enigmatic presence. What begins as a chance meeting gradually evolves into a layered emotional connection that challenges Giorgio’s worldview and highlights cultural and racial divides.

    img
  • 1975
    imgMovies

    La peccatrice

    La peccatrice

    2.667 1975 HD

    Debra arrives in Sicily with her boyfriend Turi. As soon as they arrive, the women of the village do not welcome her into the community, giving them to the witch, especially because of the black color of her skin and her great beauty.

    img
  • 2008
    imgMovies

    Un volto tra la folla

    Un volto tra la folla

    1 2008 HD

    img
  • 1979
    imgMovies

    Tesoro mio

    Tesoro mio

    3.857 1979 HD

    Playwright irreparable failure is betrayed by a concubine with the lawyer that finances the charade. But one day arrives at his house Honey, Eastern African domestic workers to first service, to boot, is a billionaire and of royal blood.

    img
  • 1974
    imgMovies

    The Body

    The Body

    4.5 1974 HD

    A beautiful woman who lives on an island with her abusive husband, entices a young man into a murder-for-money plot.

    img
  • 1987
    imgMovies

    Control

    Control

    5.25 1987 HD

    An experiment of psychological effects under stressful conditions in a shelter. When fifteen strangers are put into a nuclear shelter to see how long they can survive without interaction with the outside, things work out fine.

    img
  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema

    Blaxploitalian: 100 Years of Blackness in Italian Cinema

    1 2016 HD

    A documentary that uncovers the careers of a population of entertainers never heard from before: Black actors in Italian cinema. With modern day interviews and archival footage, the documentary discloses the personal struggles and triumphs that classic Afro-Italian, African-American and Afro-descendant actors faced in the Italian film industry, while mirroring their struggles with those of contemporary actors who are working diligently to find respectable, significant, and non-stereotypical roles, but are often unable to do so. Blaxploitalian is more than an unveiling of a troubled history; it is a call-to-action for increased diversity in international cinema through the stories of these artists in an effort to reflect the modern and racially diverse Italy.

    img
  • 1996
    imgMovies

    Marching in Darkness

    Marching in Darkness

    5.4 1996 HD

    A young recruit to the Italian army discovers and rejects the seedy world of soldiers who prostitute themselves to supplement their income. But before leaving this world he is raped by a highly-respected senior officer and must decide whether to risk bringing proceedings against him.

    img
  • 2009
    imgMovies

    Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso

    Franco Cristaldi e il suo cinema Paradiso

    1 2009 HD

    img