Linda Hassani

Linda is a first generation American of Swiss-Iranian descent who was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland to Jay Jalil Hassani and Leonie Anna Koeppel-Hassani. She has two brothers; Alexander and Frederic. After graduating from Towson Senior High School in Towson, Maryland with the Class of 1977, she attended the University of Maryland where earned her Bachelors Degree in Radio, Television and Film in 1980. A scholarship took her to England, where she earned a Masters Degree in Directing at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield in 1990. Her first short film was selected for broadcast on Thames Television. Her award-winning thesis film, The Follower (1990), garnered the A.D.L. Humanitarian award, was broadcast on PBS, and optioned by Steven Spielberg for feature development. Linda also produced Two Old Friends, an Academy Award-nominated short. Her television career began with episodes of Silk Stalkings (1991), and then Pointman (1995), for CBS. She went on to direct the feature film Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994), which was shot in Romania, released by Paramount, and became a cult favorite. Her commercial career expanded to include sports, comedy, and celebrity commercials. After a highly visible celebrity hockey campaign, Linda moved to Canada to work with a Canadian production house, and traveled between the US and Canada shooting commercials.