Director’s Work

A Selection of Films by Xenia Glen

THE MEMORY BOOM

An experimental feature that recreates the experiences of dementia through an immersive blend of spoken word, documentary, dramatic reconstruction, and never-before-seen decayed archive footage.

Upcoming premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in the Rebels with a Cause competition.

Produced by Sleepwalker. Released in 2024.

ALO

Alo, an undocumented overseas Filipino worker, is struck by a latent seizure which jeopardises his status in the UK.

Alo is based on a combination of Xenia’s lived-experience of disability, and of her experience of living with her Uncle Alo and other Filipinos, some of whom experienced deportation after a house raid by Home Office immigration officers.

Supported by the BFI Network
World Premiere BFI London Film Festival 2023
Sundance Film Festival: London 2024
Next screening: ‘DISPATCHES To & From the Diaspora’ showcase in Los Angeles audiences for Filipino/x American History Month

Produced by Sleepwalker. Released in 2023.

MY FILIPINO

A documentary that excavates layers of memory to unearth the truth at the core of a group of exploited overseas Filipino workers.

London Short Film Festival 2023

Produced by the BAFTA-nominated and EMMY winning production company Misfits Entertainment. Released in 2023.

BACKBONE

A disabled Filipina teenager living in the English countryside struggles to hide her scoliosis brace in an attempt to appear 'normal' to her new White British friends.

This was Xenia’s first scripted film and was made during the pandemic under precarious circumstances. The film is directly based on Xenia’s experience of scoliosis.

Supported by BBC Arts and Arts Council England.
Broadcast nationally on BBC3 and on BBC iPlayer.

Produced by Sleepwalker. Released in 2021.