Biography

Nadia Fares is an award winning Egyptian Swiss director, writer and producer. She has graduated from New York University, TISCH School of the Arts where she has received her Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television. Her first feature film "Honey and Ashes" received multiple international awards and critical acclaim for its groundbreaking depiction of contemporary Arabic women. Variety called it "edgy and intelligent".

In addition to scripted work, she also works as a documentary filmmaker as a way to give her fictional work gravitas and authenticity. She has ventured into dangerous territories including going undercover to interview hit men in Europe and a jihadist prisoner in Africa.

The famed Polish director, Krzysztof Kieslowski (Ten Commandments, Red, Blue, White), her directing mentor while studying at NYU, said that great directors always tell stories differently but linked to the same theme. "The fish out of water" theme connects her work. It reflects her upbringing between her Egyptian father and her Swiss mother, her dealing with different cultures, identities, mentalities and even different senses of humor. Her experiences and the ability to speak four languages (English, French, German and Arabic) have shaped her approach to stories as a director and storyteller.

When truth sometimes can be stranger than fiction, these experiences have influenced her approach in directing scripted work. When working with actors, she always tries to capture her characters' truths as closely and authentically as possible to bring out subtext, layers and contradictions that lie beneath the surface.

She works and lives in Los Angeles, Cairo and Geneva. She works on two features in the U.S. and one original series for international markets.

- IMDb mini biography by: Wendy Kram & Nadia Fares, April 7th 2023