Falling in love again with Australia: Director and Photographer Daniela Federici returns home to set up new studio and offices in Sydney

Director and photographer Daniela Federici has returned to Australia to set up a new studio and offices in Pyrmont. Federici is loving life back in Australia and focusing on her first love – directing.

Federici hails from Melbourne, where the seeds of her creativity and passion for film and photography started, shooting portraits for Vogue in her teens and directing her first TV spot for Coca Cola at age 21. Federici hit international stardom with her iconic Guess campaign with Anna Nicole Smith, in her early 20s and moved to NYC. Calling New York home for over two decades and working internationally creating 360 degree campaigns for major luxury, fashion & travel brands, glossy magazines and “A” list celebrities, Federici is an industry influencer and has returned to Australia during Covid 19 and found herself FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN with all things Australian.

Says Federici: “It’s been wonderful being back and reconnecting with my roots and culture. Australia is a breath of fresh air, not only because we are Covid free, (and that’s a testament to Australians) but also creatively on so many levels. There is a humour, humility and a sense of humanity that is part of our DNA in Australia and it’s lovely to interpret that into visual mediums and advertising campaigns.

“Recently I’ve worked on a few big TVC projects here for Pantene and the new Crown Casino launch campaign and both combine my international experience and these Australian qualities. Having worked in the USA, Europe and Asia for the past 20 years I find the Australian humour and unique style refreshing and inspiring. I’m extremely happy to be back and working with Australian world class talent. I really feel that Australia is in the world spotlight and it’s time to shine and deliver our unique perspective.”

Click here to see Daniela’s work

Federici’s ability to work across all visual mediums effortlessly and with stunning results is what has made her famous. Directing commercials, music videos, social and print campaigns gives Federici a unique ability to provide brands with consistent messaging across channels and her elevated aesthetic translates into high production values, and this has led her to create award winning 360 campaigns for some of the most successful luxury brands. Her cinematic, glamorous imagery has been at the forefront of global cultural zeitgeist, with iconic campaigns including Anna Nicole Smith for Guess, Samsung, BMW, Aston Martin, The Taj Palaces, Dior, Chanel, Bulgari, J Brand and the list goes on.

Her celebrity portfolio is the who’s who of music and film, working with greats including Prince, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton and most Grammy award winners of the past three decades.

Federici’s passion for music is still as alive as ever and she loves working with new Australian artists such as Genesis and Prince: “They are amazing talents with international appeal and will definitely blow up. I’m so excited to work with them in their infancy. I’m instrumental in creating their branding, image, photography and videos, it’s so much fun!”

A consummate global traveller and industry influencer, Federici’s long-term partnership with Conde Nast, has seen her create many influential editorials for Vogue, GQ and Traveler, and as a writer and director on episodic digital content on art culture, design, and a separate travel series “Nomad Traveller’, that features Federici shooting around the globe, exploring the destination’s unique culture and meeting cultural icons.

Her boundless energy and enthusiasm for everything new saw her create ‘Nomad Media Industries’ in 2013, a digital content studio. Her innate curiosity led her to create and produce a variety of digital series, her latest ‘Coming Up For Air’ centres around how creativity and innovation can help find solutions to world problems. When she’s not solving the world’s creative problems she leans back into her fashion roots; she is currently working on a series ‘ICONIC’, that looks at the creative icons whose work is strongly rooted in their cultural heritage.

Federici is a relentless creator who jumped at the challenge to create content for the upcoming Edison awards, which honours excellence in innovation, something Federici knows all about. Regularly invited to talk on panels regarding luxury, travel, culture, and sustainability, including Louis Vuitton travel talks. Most recently Federici was invited to Paris to speak at the UN on how to create a sustainable fashion industry in Africa.

Federici’s early work is making a huge comeback with the fashion brand SUPREME, with the first of a series of her images on Anna Nicole, sold out in 6.5 seconds which is the fastest selling item the brand has ever produced. Her follow ups of Prince and Toni Braxton should be next.

Her style is cinematic, elegant and modern, each campaign is anchored with a big idea which is carried through by the narrative storyline and strong visual identity, giving a brand context and meaning. The big idea and narrative are consistent across all touch points, giving the brand a unique voice and enabling their content to cut through clutter and create traction with the consumer.

This ability to create unique, stylish campaigns that capture the zeitgeist of the moment is captured in her most recent work shot in Australia for brands like Camilla, Crown Casino Sydney, Pantene, Area Shoes, Tania Stokes Lingerie and Aston Martin.

Federici’s enthusiasm and love of her craft is abundant and she doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time.

www.danielafederici.com