Nancy is an award-winning Polish Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and founder of Desert Rose Films in Abu Dhabi.
Nancy’s passion for film was developed and nurtured in her early years in the Polish community and then at Newtown Performing Arts High School and since graduating from the University of Sydney, she has worked extensively in the film industry.
Studying at the Atlantic Acting School and working at Michael Mailer Films in New York allowed her to develop as a screenwriter and film producer.
While working at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London, Nancy wrote the award-winning screenplay Daisy which she later directed and won 16 awards for around the world.
Soon after Daisy she wrote, produced, directed, and starred in Postpartum which was filmed in Saudi Arabia with an amateur all-female film crew, which also won numerous awards around the world. She went on to film music videos and the documentary Maisy and the Making of Daisy in London and The Black Abaya in Riyadh while lecturing Digital Photography, Screenwriting, and Storyboarding at Raffles Design Institute in Riyadh.
Her 48 Film Project Choke won her the grand prize in LA of $100,000 which she also won Best Director. She has just completed the short film The Dinner.
In 2022, the ambitious and creative director became President of Women in Film & TV – GCC. The first ever GCC chapter of Women in Film & TV, the revolutionary global organization, Nancy was honored to represent the movement at the Red Sea International Film Festival 2022.
Her recent family adventure feature film Mountain Boy is an adaptation of children’s book trilogy The Boy Who Knew the Mountains. Mountain Boy touches on crucial subjects such as autism awareness, inclusivity, climate change, and the importance of preserving Arabian heritage. Due to staying true to her core beliefs of empowering women, the production has been nominated for the Diversity and Inclusion Award at Cannes 2023.
Nancy is currently in Pre-Production for her Feature Film Frame.
Best Producers - Nancy Paton and Meredith Brett
Mountain Boy
Tokyo International Short Film Festival
Tokyo
2024
Best Feature Film
Mountain Boy
International Thai Film Festival
Bangkok
2024
Crystal Pine Award for the best Original Score for a Feature Film
Mountain Boy
International Sound and Film Music Festival (ISFMF)
2024
Jury Grand Prize
Mountain Boy
OKO International Ethnographic Film Festival
Bolgrad
2024
Best Feature Film Cinematography and Best Young Actor in a Feature Film
Mountain Boy
Chelsea Film Festival
Manhattan
2024
Official Selection
Mountain Boy
Filem'On - International Film Festival For Young Audiences
2024
Official Selection
Mountain Boy
Africa Film Trinidad + Tobago
2024
Audience Award for Best Feature Narrative
Mountain Boy
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival
San Luis Obispo
2024
Official Selection
Mountain Boy
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival
Minneapolis
2024
Falcon GCC Feature Appreciation Award
Mountain Boy
Al Ain Film Festival
Abu Dhabi
2024
Iron Giants Youth Jury Award Best Feature Film
Mountain Boy
Childrens Film Festival Seattle
Seattle
2024
Birth City
Sydney, Australia
Current City
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Gender
Female
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