Michael Tessari ACS

Director

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Biography

Michael Tessari ACS is an Australian cinematographer working on narrative films, series and commercials. In the last 24 months Tessari has served as Director of Photography on the Screen Australia financed feature drama, With or Without You, the horror film Diabolic, the action film The Run and the anticipated, yet to be released thriller - The Debt. With or Without You, Diabolic and The Run have all been released across Australian/international Cinemas and various streaming platforms. Additionally each has received accolades at the Australian Cinematographers Society Awards. Other recently released films include the sci-fi thriller Monolith, Tessari's work on which earned a nomination for the Grand Jury Prize in Cinematography at the 2023 SXSW festival, alongside a National ACS Award of Distinction. Monolith had a successful festival run across the world at SXSW, AFF, FrightFest, Bifan, MIFF and Sitges before landing on VOD. Tessari has consistently worked on successful narrative projects. The horror film Awoken was released theatrically across North America and the world; The Netflix Original Series Gymnastics Academy trended at #1 across multiple countries and many of his short films have premiered at film festivals across the globe. In 2024 Tessari was listed in IF magazine's Rising Star list and in 2026 he was accredited by the Australian Cinematographers Society.