Nadia Tass

Birthday: 1956, Lofi, Greece

Birth Name: Nadia Tassopoulos

Nadia Tass started her career as an actress in the acclaimed TV series "Prisoner," which ran for an unprecedented 692 episodes, while simultaneously directing in Australian theatre. Her 1986 ...Show More

Nadia Tass started her career as an actress in the acclaimed TV series "Prisoner," which ran for an unprecedented 692 episodes, while simultaneously directing in Australian theatre. Her 1986 debut feature Malcolm was a worldwide smash, winning 21 international awards and 8 AFI Awards. It starred Colin Friels and John Hargreaves with a soundtrack by the renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It went on to win an unprecedented eight Australian Film Institute Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor and Actress). The film is considered today an enduring Australian comedy classic, an Aussie ode to Ealing Studios. The film vied with Crocodile Dundee and Aliens for the top spot at the Australian box office that year. "This film is a real winner, a true surprise"- Gene Siskel, Siskel & Ebert.The third feature by Ms. Tass was 1990's The Big Steal, is considered an Australian Classic. It introduced the American film-going public to Ben Mendelsohn, most recently seen in Animal Kingdom (Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress) and Killer Elite. The film was an Aussie twist on Hollywood's teen romantic comedy genre; blokes, cars and Sheilas. Once again, Ms. Tass swept the Australian Film Institute Awards winning three and being nominated for six more. The film was such an international success for Ms. Tass that Hollywood came calling once again and she went on to direct Pure Luck with comedian Martin Short and Danny Glover which opened on 1,600 screens; and, the acclaimed three-episode TV series "Stark" for BBC UK that was so successful it was edited into a feature and theatrically released.Ms. Tass continued on her acclaimed trajectory by next directing Mr. Reliable starring the charming Colin Friels which was nominated for three Australian Film Institute Awards. Amy, starring Rachel Griffiths and Ben Mendelsohn was Ms. Tass' next international critical and box office success. An eight year old girl, deaf and mute since witnessing the horrible death of her beloved father, a rock musician, who can only communicate through music, struggles with her mother (an extraordinary performance by Rachel Griffiths) to overcome their grief with the help of a bemused songwriter (Ben Mendelsohn). The film won 28 international awards, including two at the Cannes Film Festival. Once again Ms.Tass was nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards.In 2000 Ms. Tass expanded her horizons by directing the critically and commercially acclaimed Australian theater productions "Miss Bosnia" and "Cosi." Her experience as a director of theatre is extensive and diverse ranging from improvised theatre, classic plays, contemporary pieces and musical theatre. Her production of "The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe" in 2002/2003, premiered to rave reviews and sell out business, touring across Australia and New Zealand.. The play garnered her a nomination for Best Direction Of A Musical for the prestigious Sir Robert Helpmann Awards (Australia's Tony Awards). Recently she has directed "The Gronholm Method" (2010); "The Aliens (2011), a play by Annie Baker; "Three Women In An Ice-Cream Cone" (2010) in London; "Promises, Promises" (2012) at the Victorian Arts Centre; and "The Other Place" (2013) by Sharr White.During the last decade Ms. Tass has continued to direct high end television movies for Disney, ABC, CBS and the WB. These rating winners include "The Miracle Worker" with David Straithairn; "Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story" with Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) and Malcolm himself, Colin Friels; "Undercover Christmas" with Jami Gertz and Tyne Daly; "Samantha: An American Girl Holiday" with Mia Farrow and AnnaSophia Robb (Soul Surfer); "Felicity: An American Girl Adventure" with Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), John Schneider and Marcia Gay Harden; and "Custody" with Rob Morrow ("Northern Exposure").Ms. Tass returns to the big screen in 2012 with Matching Jack featuring Jacinda Barrett (Ladder 49, School For Scoundrels), Richard Roxburgh (Mission: Impossible II), James Nesbitt ("Ballykissangel", Waking Ned Devine, The Hobbit) and the ever reliable Colin Friels. The film won three awards at the Milan International Film Festival (Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay) and was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award.Her next film is Fatal Honeymoon, starring Harvey Keitel and is due for a release later in 2014.Ms. Tass is considered to be one of Australia's most respected and unique filmmakers with her films being responsible for twenty-three Australian Film Institute nominations, while garnering eight wins including Best Film and Best Director. She has had retrospectives of her body of work in Moscow, Capetown & Johannesburg, New Delhi and most recently at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles in 2012 - a program which is now travelling to other US cities. In addition, Ms. Tass has sat on film festival juries for the Hawaii Film Festival, Head of Jury at St. Tropez, Asian Festival Of First Films, and most recently, the Chair of the Pune International Film Festival.A consummate professional, Ms. Tass has given back to the industry by presenting Masterclasses around the world from New York to London to Singapore to nearby New Zealand (Auckland & Wellington) and of course in Australia's major film cities of Sydney and Melbourne on multiple occasions. Hide