Tsangari was born in Athens , Greece . She studied literature at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , performance studies at New York University 's Tisch School of the Arts , and film directing at the University of Texas at Austin . Her first experience working in film was with a small role in Richard Linklater 's 1991 film '' Slacker '' . In 1995 , she founded and became the artistic director of the Cinematexas International Short Film Festival , which ran until 2006 . She later served as the projection designer and video director on the creative team headed by Dimitris Papaioannou that designed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens
opening
2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Athina Rachel Tsangari