contact
jessdicosta@gmail.com
Jess is a filmmaker and visual artist based on Gadigal land (Sydney). Having graduated with a First-Class Honours degree from COFA (UNSW College of Fine Arts) Jess was 1 of 30 students selected nation wide to exhibit at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art for her graduating film, APARTMENT BLOCK NO’ 10
In 2019, Jess received a scholarship funded by the San Sebastián International Film Festival to complete her masters in Film Creation at experimental film school, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in San Sebastián, Spain.
In 2019, Jess received a scholarship funded by the San Sebastián International Film Festival to complete her masters in Film Creation at experimental film school, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in San Sebastián, Spain.
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Since returning to Australia, her films have been screened and exhibited both nationally and internationally at the likes of SXSW Sydney, Venice Arte Laguna, Cannes Art Film Festival, Venice Film Week, the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, and St Kilda Film Festival as well as numerous major Australian art prizes. Her films have also earned several accolades, including the TWT Excellence Award, the Tony White Memorial Art Award, and the Homiens Spring Art Prize.
In 2023, Jess was selected as one of 50 international directors for PlayLab Film’s Creator’s Lab with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Memoria, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) in Yucatán, Mexico. Her film See Me Living was one of the 10 chosen from the lab for international distribution, leading to her representing PlayLab Films at Cannes Film Festival 2025. In 2024, Jess was awarded the Power Institute Fellowship Grant to continue her practice in residence at the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris in 2025.
Currently, Jess is working on a collaboration video work commissioned by the Sydney Opera House, 2nd unit directing on a major international documentary and is in development for her debut feature film
In 2023, Jess was selected as one of 50 international directors for PlayLab Film’s Creator’s Lab with Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Memoria, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) in Yucatán, Mexico. Her film See Me Living was one of the 10 chosen from the lab for international distribution, leading to her representing PlayLab Films at Cannes Film Festival 2025. In 2024, Jess was awarded the Power Institute Fellowship Grant to continue her practice in residence at the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris in 2025.
Currently, Jess is working on a collaboration video work commissioned by the Sydney Opera House, 2nd unit directing on a major international documentary and is in development for her debut feature film