Nossiter 

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Biography

Jonathan Nossiter was born on November 12th, 1961, in Washington, DC, His father, Bernard D. Nossiter, was a correspondent for The Washington Post and later for The New York Times. Jonathan is the youngest of four brothers.

His family moved to Europe when he was two-years-old. They lived in The UK, India, France, Greece and Italy. He studied at the Ecole Pascal and "was kicked out" at the age of four. At 15 he started working in the restaurants in Paris where he took a great interest in wine. He later got a degree as a sommelier.

Nossiter studied at the Art Institute in San Francisco and the Beaux Arts in Paris. But soon he understood that he wasn't a painter and went to Dartmouth College, where he studied Ancient Greek (He speaks fluent Greek, French and Italian). He got a student fellowship to translate Aeschylus' "Prometheus Bound" from Greek to English and turned it into a screenplay. After graduating from Dartmouth, he directed in the theaters of New York and London, working in restaurants to pay the bills.

At the age 18, Nossiter "got bitten seriously" by Fellini's "8 1\2". This film had a great influence upon his creative activity. He began his film career in 1987 as assistant director to Adrian Lyne on "Fatal Attraction". He made his own debut as a filmmaker in 1990. His first film "Resident Alien" is a documentary about Quentin Crisp and life of the bohemian in New York.

"Sunday" was Jonathan Nossiter's first feature film. After surprising success at the Sundance film festival, he was offered "an extravagant amount of money" to direct a big-budget remake of a famous film. He turned it down.

Nossiter's second feature film "Signs and Wonders" (2000) is a provocative psychological thriller about an American family living in Greece. "Signs and Wonders" was shot with a digital camera. It is a French-produced film starring Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Deborah Kara Unger and Dimitri Katalifos.

Most American movie critics weren't kind to the film, accusing the director of anti-American sentiment. But Nossiter never hides his political beliefs. He worries much about the danger of globalization, destroying world cultures and human personality with American consumerism. His film is very much a reflection of his world outlook. "Signs and Wonders" was, however, highly appreciated in Europe. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival (2000). Most interviewers use the word "passionate" to describe Nossiter. Articulate and animated in his self-expression, he is passionate about everything: his wine career, his films, his beliefs. He is also incredibly modest. He always refuses praise for his talents in favor of his collaborators. It reflects his passion about everything he does.

In addition to feature filmmaking, Nossiter has also appeared in the documentaries "Searching for Arthur Penn" (as a segment of "Directors on Directors", 1997) and "Losing the Thread" (Italy, 2000). He also took part in the Canadian documentary "In the Shadow of Hollywood".

Currently, Nossiter splits his time between filmmaking and restaurant wine consulting. His job is creating wine lists for such Manhattan restaurants as Balthazar, 'Tapas Bar, Rice, and Cafe Gitane. He is a member of The Sommelier Society of America. Nossiter's wine lists for II Buco and 'Tapas Bar earned The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.

He resides in the Little Italy section of Manhattan.

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