Tessa Ross

Tessa Ross

Birth : 1961-01-01, London, England, UK

History

Tessa Sarah Ross CBE (born 1961) is a British film producer and executive. She was appointed Head of Film at Channel 4 in 2000 and ran Film4 and Film4 Productions from 2002 to 2014. Ross was appointed to the Board of the Royal National Theatre in 2011, and became Chief executive in 2014. She resigned in April 2015, citing concerns over the new leadership structure, but remained working with the National Theatre as a consultant. Ross received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award and was named as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour in 2013. She is an honorary fellow of the National Film and Television School. In the 2010 New Year Honours, she was awarded the CBE for services to broadcasting. Ross has been the executive producer of a number of notable British films, including Billy Elliot (2000), The Last King of Scotland (2006), This Is England (2006), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Hunger (2008), Four Lions (2010), 127 Hours (2010), Shame (2011), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Under the Skin (2013), Ex Machina (2015), 45 Years (2015), Room (2015), and Carol (2015).

Profile

Tessa Ross

Movies

The Iron Claw
Producer
The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.
The Zone of Interest
Executive Producer
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Starve Acre
Producer
Set in their family estate, Starve Acre, in rural 1970s England, Richard and Juliette find their idyllic family life disrupted when their son Ewan starts acting strangely. The formerly happy couple grow farther apart when Richard buries himself in local folklore -— including the myth that an ancient oak tree set on their estate possesses phenomenal powers — while Juliette seeks comfort in their local community. Just when it seems the couple may reconnect, dark and sinister forces find their way into the family home and their attention is diverted by an unexpected discovery.
The Wonder
Executive Producer
Haunted by her past, a nurse travels from England to a remote Irish village in 1862 to investigate a young girl's supposedly miraculous fast.
Brexit: The Uncivil War
Executive Producer
Political strategist Dominic Cummings leads a popular but controversial campaign to convince British voters to leave the European Union from 2015 up until the present day.
They Shall Not Grow Old
Executive Producer
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.
Trespass Against Us
Executive Producer
Three generations of the rowdy Cutler family live as outlaws in some of Britain's richest countryside – hunting hares, ram-raiding stately homes, and taunting the police. Struggling to retain a way of life fast becoming extinct, Chad Cutler ends up caught between his father's archaic principles and trying to do right by his kids, whilst the full force of the law is finally catching up with him.
Warcraft
Producer
The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their family, their people, and their home.
Our Kind of Traitor
Executive Producer
A young Oxford academic and his attorney girlfriend holiday in Morocco. They bump into a Russian millionaire who owns a peninsula and a diamond watch. He wants a game of tennis. What else he wants propels the lovers on a tortuous journey to the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's intelligence establishment, to Paris and the Alps.
Carol
Producer
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Suffragette
Executive Producer
Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement who were forced underground to evade the State.
Room
Executive Producer
Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.
The Lobster
Executive Producer
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.
Macbeth
Executive Producer
Feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play about General Macbeth whose ambitious wife urges him to use wicked means in order to gain power of the throne over the sitting king, Duncan.
45 Years
Executive Producer
There is just one week until Kate Mercer's 45th wedding anniversary and the planning for the party is going well. But then a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. By the time the party is upon them, five days later, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate.
Ex Machina
Executive Producer
Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
Black Sea
Executive Producer
A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure rumored to be lost in the depths of the Black Sea. As greed and desperation take control on-board their claustrophobic vessel, the increasing uncertainty of the mission causes the men to turn on each other to fight for their own survival.
Mr. Turner
Executive Producer
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
'71
Executive Producer
A young British soldier must find his way back to safety after his unit accidentally abandons him during a riot in the streets of Belfast.
A Most Wanted Man
Executive Producer
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team which tracks the movements of potential terrorists.
Frank
Executive Producer
A young wannabe musician who discovers he has bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
The Double
Executive Producer
An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.
Under the Skin
Executive Producer
A seductive alien prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.
Cuban Fury
Executive Producer
Beneath Bruce Garrett's under-confident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire.
12 Years a Slave
Executive Producer
In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty as well as unexpected kindnesses Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
Trance
Executive Producer
A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.
Seven Psychopaths
Executive Producer
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
A Running Jump
Executive Producer
Gary attempts to buy a second-hand car. What should be a straightforward task is turned into something of a quest by various people, including dodgy East End car dealer Perry, Perry's taxi-driver dad, a garage owner called Derek, Perry's wife Debbie and couple of twins.
Shame
Executive Producer
Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.
The Woman in the Fifth
Executive Producer
An American writer moves to Paris to be closer to his daughter and finds himself falling immediately on hard times.
Wuthering Heights
Executive Producer
Yorkshire moorlands, northern England, in the late 18th century. Young Heathcliff, rescued from the streets of Liverpool by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights, an isolated farm, develops over the years an insane passion for Cathy, his foster sister, a sick obsession destined to end tragically.
Attack the Block
Executive Producer
A teen gang in a South London housing estate must team up with the other residents to protect their neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.
Submarine
Executive Producer
15-year-old deep-thinking Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate at their Swansea high school. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
One Day
Executive Producer
A romantic comedy centered on Dexter and Emma, who first meet during their graduation in 1988 and proceed to keep in touch regularly. The film follows what they do on July 15 annually, usually doing something together.
127 Hours
Executive Producer
The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.
Another Year
Executive Producer
During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.
Never Let Me Go
Executive Producer
As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy spend their childhood at an idyllic and secluded English boarding school. As they grow into adults, they must come to terms with the complexity and strength of their love for one another while also preparing for the haunting reality awaiting them.
Nowhere Boy
Executive Producer
The drama tells the story of John Lennon's teenage years in Liverpool and the start of his journey to becoming a successful musician. The story also examines the impact on his early life and personality of the two dominant females in his childhood.
The Lovely Bones
Executive Producer
After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family -- and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
Executive Producer
Sidney Young is a down-on-his-luck journalist. Thanks to a stint involving a pig and a glitzy awards ceremony, Sidney turns his fortunes around, attracting the attention of Clayton Harding, editor of New York-based glossy magazine 'Sharps', and landing the holy grail of journalism jobs. The Brit jets off to the Big Apple and moves from one blunder to the next.
Happy-Go-Lucky
Executive Producer
A look at a few chapters in the life of Poppy, a cheery, colorful, North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
In Bruges
Executive Producer
Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ken, it is not what he expected.
Incendiary
Executive Producer
A woman's life is torn apart when her husband and infant son are killed in a suicide bombing at a soccer match.
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Executive Producer
The story of a son's conflicting memories of his dying father.
This Is England
Executive Producer
A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.
Venus
Executive Producer
Maurice is an aging veteran actor who becomes taken with Jessie, the grandniece of his closest friend. When Maurice tries to soften the petulant and provincial young girl with the benefit of his wisdom and London culture, their give-and-take surprises both Maurice and Jessie as they discover what they don't know about themselves.
The Last King of Scotland
Executive Producer
Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.
Enduring Love
Executive Producer
Two strangers become dangerously close after witnessing a deadly accident. On a beautiful cloudless day a young couple celebrate their reunion with a picnic. Joe has planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside with his partner, Claire. But as Joe and Claire prepare to open a bottle of champagne, their idyll comes to an abrupt end. A hot air balloon drifts into the field, obviously in trouble. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down. Joe and three other men rush to secure the basket. But fate has other ideas...
Dead Man's Shoes
Executive Producer
A soldier returns home to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his dimwitted brother while he was away.
Second Sight: Kingdom of the Blind
Executive Producer
While hiding his own rapidly deteriorating eyesight, a detective investigates the murder of a black youth leader.
Liam
Executive Producer
A morality tale of xenophobia, religious prejudice, mob violence, poverty, and their effect on two children in Liverpool during the Depression. When a shipyard closes, Liam and Teresa's dad loses his job. Liam, who's about 8, making his first Holy Communion, gets a regular dose of fire and brimstone at church. Teresa, about 13, has a job as a maid to the Jewish family that owns the closed shipyard. The lady of that house is having an affair, and Teresa becomes an accomplice. Liam stutters terribly, especially when troubled. Dad comes under the sway of the Fascists, who blame cheap Irish labor and Jewish owners. A Molotov cocktail brings things to a head.
Billy Elliot
Producer
County Durham England 1984 the miners strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green starting a class war with the lower classes suffering caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot who after leaving his boxing club for the day stubbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne the audition is for the royal Ballet school in London.
Robinson in Space
Executive Producer
Robinson is commissioned to investigate the unspecified "problem of England." The narrator describes his seven excursions, with the unseen Robinson, around the country. They mainly concentrate on ports, power stations, prisons, and manufacturing plants, but they also bring in various literary connections, as well as a few conventional landscapes.
The Semplica-Girl Diaries
Producer
Family man Lloyd Turner (Ayoade) is facing up to his 40th birthday with the prospect of a new decade mouldering in debt and mediocrity. After attending yet another party hosted by the rich parents of his daughter’s friend, and in a bid to give his daughters the happiness he thinks they deserve, Lloyd and his wife Sarah (Fox) makes the financially crippling decision to invest in what has become the elite’s new favourite status symbol: a set of ‘Semplica Girls’ to decorate their front lawn. Yet when Lloyd’s youngest daughter, Ida, discovers what’s happening in her name, on her very own doorstep, she threatens to plunge her family into a chaos deeper than they’ve ever known…