Jessica M. Thompson is an Australian film and television writer, director, editor, and producer. She lives in Los Angeles.

Early life and education

Thompson grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and is of partial Maltese heritage. Thompson studied at the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

and

University of Technology Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, though its origins as a Institute of technology, ...

, where she received a B.A. in Media Arts and Production.

Career

Thompson worked as a film editor in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 2010, where she founded Stedfast Productions. She edited Cheryl Furjanic's documentary, ''Back on Board'', which premiered on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

in August 2015 and was nominated for an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

in 2016. Thompson has also worked as a film editor with filmmakers

Liz Garbus Elizabeth Freya Garbus (born April 11, 1970) is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are '' The Farm: Angola, USA,'' '' Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,'' '' Bobby Fischer Against the World,'' '' Love, Ma ...

and

Edet Belzberg Edet Belzberg is a documentary filmmaker. She won a 2005 MacArthur Fellowship. Biography Belzberg received a B.A. in 1991 from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an M.A. in 1997 from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia ...

. Thompson made her feature writing and directorial debut with ''

The Light of the Moon ''The Light of the Moon'' is a 2017 American drama film written, directed, and edited by Jessica M. Thompson. It stars Stephanie Beatriz as Bonnie, a woman who was sexually assaulted in New York City and covers a six-week period following the assau ...

'' (2017), starring

Stephanie Beatriz Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvizuri (born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for playing Detective Rosa Diaz in the Fox/ NBC comedy series ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (2013–2021), Quiet in the Peacock action-comedy series '' ...

Michael Stahl-David Michael Stahl-David (born October 28, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Sean Donnelly on the NBC drama series ''The Black Donnellys'' and his lead role as Robert "Rob" Hawkins in the J. J. Abrams-produced film ''Cloverfield''. Ea ...

, and

Conrad Ricamora Conrad Wayne Ricamora-Jensen (born 17 February 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Oliver Hampton on the ABC television series ''How to Get Away with Murder'' (2014–20). As a stage actor, he is noted for his rol ...

. It had its premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in March 2017, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film. Critics called the film "harrowingly effective" (

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

), "honest and complex" (

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

), and Film Inquiry stated that, “For any filmmaker this would be an unmitigated triumph, but for a first time filmmaker this is revelatory.” ''The Light of the Moon'' had a limited North American theatrical release in November–December 2017. The film has a 97% score on review-aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Thompson was the lead director on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ten-part television series ''

The End The End may refer to: Film * The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...

'' (2020), starring

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter is an English actress. She has received an Olivier Award and nominations for a Tony Award, five Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011, Walter was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British E ...

and

Frances O'Connor Frances Ann O'Connor (born 12 June 1967) is a British-Australian actress and director. She appears in roles in the films '' Mansfield Park'', '' Bedazzled'', '' A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', '' The Importance of Being Earnest'', and ''Timelin ...

, produced by the Academy-Award-winning,

See-Saw Films See-Saw Films is a British-Australian film and television production company founded in 2008 by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, with offices in London and Sydney. Their productions include ''The King's Speech'', ''Top Of The Lake'', ''Lion'', ...

. In 2022, Thompson directed her second feature film, '' The Invitation'', a Sony Pictures horror-thriller starring

Nathalie Emmanuel Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel (born 2 March 1989) is a British actress. Emmanuel began her acting career appearing in theatre in the late 1990s, acquiring roles in various West End theatre, West End productions such as the Musical theatre, musical ' ...

, and written by Blair Butler. It was released in cinemas worldwide on August 26, 2022 and was the top grossing film at the box office that weekend. The film debuted at #2 on the Netflix charts on December 24, 2022 with over 664 million minutes viewed on the platform in one week.

Personal life

In 2010, Thompson moved from Sydney, Australia to Brooklyn, New York. She lived in the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

neighborhood for more than eight years before moving to Los Angeles, California.

Filmography

Short film Feature film Television Other credits

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jessica Australian film editors Australian film directors Australian women film directors Australian women screenwriters Australian women film producers Year of birth missing (living people) University of Technology Sydney alumni Australian women film editors Living people Australian people of Maltese descent