Tass is known for the films Malcolm (1986) and The Big Steal (1990), as well as an extensive body of work in the theatre, both in Australia and internationally.
[6][2] Tass studied psychology at the University of Melbourne, and while there became interested in theatre, including works by students at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).
After Australian distributors were uninterested in the film, Tass, Parker, and collaborator Tim White took it to the United States, where there was a bidding war for it.
[3] In 1988, with the backing of United Artists in the US, Tass directed and co-produced the comedy Rikky and Pete, which was again successfully around the world.
[1] The following year, she directed and produced The Big Steal (released in 1990),[1] which won three and was nominated for six AFI Awards, as well as being an international hit.
[1] Her first feature film directed in the United States was Pure Luck, produced for Universal Studios and starring Danny Glover and Martin Short.
[1] From the 2000s, Tass directed several telemovies in the US, including The Miracle Worker (2000), Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (2001), Undercover Christmas (2004), and Felicity: An American Girl Adventure (2005).
[15] Tass has directed films and TV series for the BBC, CBS, Disney, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros.[16][15] Matching Jack, about a mother's search for a potential donor for her son with leukaemia, was shot by Parker.
The film is narrated by Scottish actor Brian Cox, with Costa Ronin playing Oleg in flashbacks, and features interviews and archival footage with Walter Hill, Amanda Plummer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alexander Mitta, Milena Dravic, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and others.
In later work, Tass directed This Effing Lady by Maureen Sherlock at the Brunswick Ballroom (2021) and Wicked Sisters by Alma De Groen for Griffin Theatre in Sydney (2020).
[33][34][35] Also in 2019, she directed Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by Heather McDonald, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, for Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C..[36][37][38] Tass has presented masterclasses around the world.
Her films that have awards and nominations include, most notably, Malcolm (1986); Amy (1997); The Miracle Worker (2000); and Matching Jack (2010).