Nadia Dresti began her career in the movie business in 1984, in the Festival del Film Locarno. In 1988 she joined the 20th Century Fox-Columbia TriStar office in Geneva as marketing director for Switzerland. In 1990 she founded her own company specialized in promotion. In 1998 she began working with the Marché du Film at Cannes and the European Film Market at the Berlinale. She then became a member of the Festival del Film Locarno selection committee, was elected head of the Industry Office and took part in the launching of Open Doors, the co-production workshop of the festival. In 2006 Nadia Dresti was elected a deputy for the artistic direction of the Festival del film Locarno, and in 2013 she became also head of international affairs. She is a member of the Federal Film Commission at the Federal Cultural Office of Switzerland.