Jonathan Nossiter
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Nossiter is an American filmmaker. Son of Washington Post and New York Times foreign correspondent Bernard Nossiter, he was born in the United States in 1961. He was raised in France, England, Italy, Greece and India. He studied painting at the Beaux Arts
in Paris and at the San Francisco Art Institute
, as well as Ancient Greek at Dartmouth College
(Phi Beta Kappa, Senior Fellow.) After work as an assistant director in the theatre in England (The Newcastle Playhouse, King's Head), he went to New York where he landed a job moving office furniture for the film Fatal Attraction
, which led to a position as assistant to the director Adrian Lyne
for the length of the shoot.
, who later became the star of his first feature film, Resident Alien, a hybrid fiction-documentary also starring John Hurt
and Holly Woodlawn
. Theatrically released in 1991, after premieres at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals, Resident Alien, which he wrote, produced and directed, is a comic portrait of the last, tattered days of New York’s bohemian underground. It was rereleased in 2005 on DVD in the US in an edition with a later, twinned film Losing The Thread, a comedy about art world follies and the triumph of tourism in Florence, Italy. His second feature film Sunday (1997), which he produced with Alix Madigan, co-wrote with James Lasdun
and directed, won the Sundance Film Festival
's Grand Jury Prize for Best Film and Waldo Salt award for Best Screenplay and the Deauville Film Festival's Grand Prize for Best Film and their International Critics' Prize, as well as earning a selection in Un Certain Regard
in Cannes
. Starring David Suchet
, Sunday is a dark romantic comedy about the travails of an unemployed IBM employee among the homeless in Queens and his fairy tale one day love affair with an ageing actress.
, in parallel to his film career, he has made wine lists and trained staffs for a variety of restaurants in New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, including “Balthazar”, “Rice”, “Il Buco” “Man Ray”, “Roberta Sudbrack”, Claude Troisgros and “Aprazivel”.
His book Taste & Power: The wine world wars, , was published in 2007 by Editions Grasset in France, drawing varied reactions from the wine community, including Robert M. Parker, Jr who accused Nossiter of stupidity and bigotry.
An English edition of the book, entitled Liquid Memory and translated by Nossiter, will be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2009.
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
in Paris and at the San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco Art Institute is a school of higher education in contemporary art with the main campus in the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, California. Its graduate center is in the Dogpatch neighborhood. The private, non-profit institution is accredited by WASC and is a member of the...
, as well as Ancient Greek at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
(Phi Beta Kappa, Senior Fellow.) After work as an assistant director in the theatre in England (The Newcastle Playhouse, King's Head), he went to New York where he landed a job moving office furniture for the film Fatal Attraction
Fatal Attraction
Fatal Attraction is a 1987 American thriller blended with horror, directed by Adrian Lyne and stars Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. The film centers around a married man who has a weekend affair with a woman who refuses to allow it to end, resulting in emotional blackmail, stalking...
, which led to a position as assistant to the director Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for directing films that focus on sexually charged characters and often uses natural light, a fog machine and other effects to create eroticized atmospheres...
for the length of the shoot.
Film career
It was during the filming that Nossiter met Quentin CrispQuentin Crisp
Quentin Crisp , was an English writer and raconteur. He became a gay icon in the 1970s after publication of his memoir, The Naked Civil Servant.- Early life :...
, who later became the star of his first feature film, Resident Alien, a hybrid fiction-documentary also starring John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
and Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn
Holly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
. Theatrically released in 1991, after premieres at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals, Resident Alien, which he wrote, produced and directed, is a comic portrait of the last, tattered days of New York’s bohemian underground. It was rereleased in 2005 on DVD in the US in an edition with a later, twinned film Losing The Thread, a comedy about art world follies and the triumph of tourism in Florence, Italy. His second feature film Sunday (1997), which he produced with Alix Madigan, co-wrote with James Lasdun
James Lasdun
James Lasdun is an English author, poet and academic. Lasdun was one of the judges for the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize.-Career:...
and directed, won the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
's Grand Jury Prize for Best Film and Waldo Salt award for Best Screenplay and the Deauville Film Festival's Grand Prize for Best Film and their International Critics' Prize, as well as earning a selection in Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
in Cannes
1997 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Isabelle Adjani *Gong Li *Mira Sorvino *Paul Auster *Tim Burton *Luc Bondy *Patrick Dupond *Mike Leigh *Nanni Moretti *Michael Ondaatje -Feature film competition:...
. Starring David Suchet
David Suchet
David Suchet, CBE, is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy...
, Sunday is a dark romantic comedy about the travails of an unemployed IBM employee among the homeless in Queens and his fairy tale one day love affair with an ageing actress.
- Nossiter’s subsequent feature, Signs and Wonders (2000), starred Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
and Stellan SkarsgårdStellan SkarsgårdStellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
. Shot in Greece and produced by MK2 and Nick Wechsler (the only film Nossiter did not act as a producer), this psychological thriller was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Festival in 2000.
- His fourth feature film, MondovinoMondovinoMondovino is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter...
(2004), which he produced, directed, shot and edited, is a documentary set in the real world of wine. It was nominated for the Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
in Cannes in 2004 (one of only four documentaries ever nominated in the history of the festival). It was also the only documentary ever nominated for Best European Film at the Césars in 2005. A 10 part series derived from the feature, which he also directed and produced, was given a gala premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and released by Diaphana on DVD in France in 2006. It was released in the US in 2007 and has been shown on television in more than 20 countries.
- Nossiter's other films include Losing The Thread for RAI in Italy and the Sundance Channel in the US (premiere Rotterdam Festival 2001) and Searching for Arthur, a look at Arthur PennArthur PennArthur Hiller Penn was an American film director and producer with a career as a theater director as well. Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
in New York, for Telepiu's Italian series Directors on Directors (premiere at Locarno Festival 1997).
- His most recent film, Rio Sex ComedyRio Sex ComedyRio Sex Comedy is a 2010 comedy film, written and directed by Jonathan Nossiter. It premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival on 16 September.-Plot:...
premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival2010 Toronto International Film FestivalThe 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival, was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 9 and September 19, 2010. The opening night gala presented Score: A Hockey Musical, a Canadian comedy-drama musical film. Last Night closed the festival on September 19.2010 TIFF included...
.
Wine
A trained sommelierSommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
, in parallel to his film career, he has made wine lists and trained staffs for a variety of restaurants in New York, Paris and Rio de Janeiro, including “Balthazar”, “Rice”, “Il Buco” “Man Ray”, “Roberta Sudbrack”, Claude Troisgros and “Aprazivel”.
His book Taste & Power: The wine world wars, , was published in 2007 by Editions Grasset in France, drawing varied reactions from the wine community, including Robert M. Parker, Jr who accused Nossiter of stupidity and bigotry.
An English edition of the book, entitled Liquid Memory and translated by Nossiter, will be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2009.