Director: Jessica M. Thompson

Born in: Sydney, Australia
Biography: Jessica M. Thompson is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker who made her feature writer-directorial debut with "The Light of the Moon", winning the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at SXSW. "The Light of the Moon", starring Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, In The Heights, Encanto), enjoyed a limited theatrical release to sold-out screens in both New York and Los Angeles and heralds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. Critics called the film "harrowingly effective" (Variety), "nuanced, honest and complex" (The Hollywood Reporter), and Film Inquiry stated that "for any filmmaker, this would be an unmitigated triumph, but for a first-time filmmaker this is revelatory." Her second directorial feature "The Invitation", a Sony Picture's gothic-thriller, had its worldwide cinematic release on August 26, 2022. It was #1 at the box office and #2 when later released on Netflix, being seen by over 12 million people in two weeks. Jess was the lead director on the Showtime/Sky series, "The End", produced by the Oscar-winning See-Saw Films (The Power of the Dog, Heartstopper, The King's Speech). The series received five-star reviews from The Guardian and The Times.