Italian-Australian actor Greta Scacchi has garnered an illustrious career, having won Emmy, AFI and Logie awards as well as being recognised with BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. Thanks to her fluency in English, French and Italian, Scacchi has come to occupy a unique place on the international stage, with distinguished roles across continents.
Scacchi first shot to fame in 1983 as the headstrong, adulterous colonial officer’s wife in Heat and Dust. After the success of 1987’s White Mischief she landed roles in America, in films such as Wolfgang Petersen’s Shattered (1991), Robert Altman’s Hollywood satire The Player (1992) with Tim Robbins, and starred alongside Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent (1990). She has also worked with prominent European directors including Margarethe Von Trotta’s Paura e Amore, Diane Kurys’ Un Homme Amoureux and the Taviani Brothers’ Good Morning Babylon. Recently she appeared in the popular BBC mini-series War & Peace (2016).
In 1975 Scacchi relocated to Perth where she made her stage debut at the New Dolphin Theatre. Her best known Australian role came about in 1999, with the beloved classic Looking for Alibrandi which earned her the AFI award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her theatrical repertoire includes Uncle Vanya in London, Sam Shepard’s Simpatico in Sydney, an Italian production of Vecchi Tempi and A Little Night Music in France. Her theatre work has led her back to Perth for Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Chekhov’s The Seagull.
Scacchi was honoured with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della repubblica Italiana – Italy’s equivalent of a knighthood – for services to the arts, at the Italian Embassy in London in 2013. On top of this year’s festival highlight Tenderness, Scacchi has a further three productions in the works for 2017: La ragazza nella nebbia, the second season of TV series Versailles, and the TV mini-series The Terror.
We are delighted to welcome Greta Scacchi as this year’s Lavazza Italian Film Festival Ambassador. Join us at the following Q&A screenings for Tenderness.