Chloé Pisco is an early career film director who has pivoted to feature filmmaking with over twenty years experience across live arts including dance, circus, immersive theatre and short films. She blurs the lines between art and science in her research on the love hormone oxytocin, which she continues to explore with The Oxytocin Projects.
Pisco has been commissioned to create and produce work since 2001, in Australia, Ireland and the wider EU. Funders have included the Arts Council of Ireland, European Union’s Culture 2000, EU Media and Culture Funds and the European Capital of Culture, to name a few. Funded projects have included live performance, underwater filmmaking, dance film and 360 VR.
Her work with whales to date includes 9 weeks of underwater research on interspecies communication with wild whales in Australia and Tonga. She has worked across 4 oceans with wild humpbacks.
Before The Oxytocin Projects, Pisco ran three companies; Rebus Dance co. ( 2001-2004), No Frontiers Dance co. (2005 - 2012) and The Flying Dance co. (2006 - 2014.) She has managed budgets of up to €1M for a single performance, directed work with up to six hundred artists, and performed for live audiences of up to a million herself.
Pisco is also very grateful to have worked extensively with First Nations People in remote Australia, collaborating to co create live performances and short film projects on local themes. She has begun learning the basics of Noongar, Yolngu and Alyawarr languages and is a lifelong student of Indigenous cultures.
She describes her current project Dances with Whales as the personal connection story of My Octopus Teacher meets the epic visuals and interspecies communication themes of Arrival, through a First Nations expert lens.
The film will bring a group of multicultural dancers, (mostly Indigenous artists), to explore the creative and scientific experiences Pisco has had to date with whales, learning even more each time as a group, in a cinematic love letter to the greatest creature on earth - the whale.
Reframed for them all and expertly translated by First Nations whale connected artists.
A story told completely non linearly.
As whales would.
FILM EXPERIENCE
--> Films in development - Director / writer:
- "DANCES WITH WHALES" – Director/ producer/ writer of this unique documentary Feature film now in pre production - (Completion 2026.)
- "Why I dance with whales" – Director of the Artistic film in development 2024. A precursor sister film to Dances with whales. With director Kim Bartley ("Pure Grit") as a mentor and Katie McNeice ("Who we love"), as co-writer.
→ Directing credits Screened at festivals :
- 2022 "Tapping into Freedom" – Director short, selected for Swedish screendance festival - Cinema screening tour.
- 2018 - “Cetacea sensorium” screened on site specific theatre wall at LEGS on The WALL, Sydney, Australia.
- 2017 "Cetacea Sensorium" – Director (short) Screened premiere at 2017 Ningalens film competition - Exmouth, Australia.
- 2017 “Cetacea sensorium 1.0” commissioned for and screened on large scale site specific Marine research building, Exmouth WA, Australia.
→ Other Directing credits:
- 2018 "Live strong, two ways" – Choreography and directing. Co-created and collaboratted on series of 6 shorts with First Nations people of – Arlparra, Ampilatwatja, and Alpurrulam land and Millingimbi (Arnhem Land, Aus.)
→ Award winning films - Creative team credits
- 2019 "Blöd" –Director Kerstin Grunditz Brennan and Annika Bolholm – Dancer in Award winning feature. (SWE.)
- 2017 "Amèliorer" – Director John Carberry. Starred in Award winning dance film (Aus.)
- 2011 "The Sourdough Beat" – Director Dr Treasa O’Brien (London)
- 2009 "Varðeldur" by Sigur Rós - Director Clare Langan, award winning music video. Starred in dance (+ stunt falls / Trampoline) (Ire) Cinematographer/ DP Robbie Ryan of “ Poor Things”.
- 2008 "State of suspension" – Director Clare Langan - Starred in award winning short. (Ire) Cinematographer/ DP Robbie Ryan of “The Lobster”.
- 2007 "Dance Story" AClique Films, Director Donal O'Shea. Starred in full Feature Film : (Incl. All own Stunt fighting.)
FORMAL EDUCATION 3rd level:
1998-1999 - Diploma of Dance perf and education : Colaiste Stiofan Naofa, Ireland.
1999-2001 - Degree in dance at Alvin Ailey school as part of Fordham Uni. NYC.
2018-2020 - MFA Masters Fine Arts research - New contemporary Circus practices.
Fields of research: Circus, Dance, Neuroendocrinology and Marine Mammal Behaviour. At DOCH school for Stockholm university of the Arts.
FILM EDUCATION:
- 2024 Embodied Documentary Filmmaking - courses by IMPRINT docs.
- 2023 + 2024 Current courses as part of Sundance Institute programme - on Directors and Producers track - 41 weeks offered to me so far.
* Documentary filmmaking
* Producing Core elements.
* Directing: Visual Storytelling.
* Directing: How to collaborate with your cinematographer.
* How to Schedule, Budget & Prepare Your Production for Financing.
* Documentary editing
* Documentary Ethics
* Preparing to shoot your first short film.
- 2022 to 2023 incl. - Mentorships with Katie Mc Neice on Film Production and writing, with editor and feminist film maker Kersti Grunditz Brennan (SWE) and film director Tess O'Brien (NZ.) All funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
- 2022 - Mentorship one on one in film making with Dr Treasa O'Brien (IRE).
- 2020 - DANCE on FILM “DansFILM “Course Cyntia Botello – 7 weeks, Stockholm.
- 2019 - 360 degrees VR Dance film making course – Screen dance fest, Sweden.
Pisco has been commissioned to create and produce work since 2001, in Australia, Ireland and the wider EU. Funders have included the Arts Council of Ireland, European Union’s Culture 2000, EU Media and Culture Funds and the European Capital of Culture, to name a few. Funded projects have included live performance, underwater filmmaking, dance film and 360 VR.
Her work with whales to date includes 9 weeks of underwater research on interspecies communication with wild whales in Australia and Tonga. She has worked across 4 oceans with wild humpbacks.
Before The Oxytocin Projects, Pisco ran three companies; Rebus Dance co. ( 2001-2004), No Frontiers Dance co. (2005 - 2012) and The Flying Dance co. (2006 - 2014.) She has managed budgets of up to €1M for a single performance, directed work with up to six hundred artists, and performed for live audiences of up to a million herself.
Pisco is also very grateful to have worked extensively with First Nations People in remote Australia, collaborating to co create live performances and short film projects on local themes. She has begun learning the basics of Noongar, Yolngu and Alyawarr languages and is a lifelong student of Indigenous cultures.
She describes her current project Dances with Whales as the personal connection story of My Octopus Teacher meets the epic visuals and interspecies communication themes of Arrival, through a First Nations expert lens.
The film will bring a group of multicultural dancers, (mostly Indigenous artists), to explore the creative and scientific experiences Pisco has had to date with whales, learning even more each time as a group, in a cinematic love letter to the greatest creature on earth - the whale.
Reframed for them all and expertly translated by First Nations whale connected artists.
A story told completely non linearly.
As whales would.
FILM EXPERIENCE
--> Films in development - Director / writer:
- "DANCES WITH WHALES" – Director/ producer/ writer of this unique documentary Feature film now in pre production - (Completion 2026.)
- "Why I dance with whales" – Director of the Artistic film in development 2024. A precursor sister film to Dances with whales. With director Kim Bartley ("Pure Grit") as a mentor and Katie McNeice ("Who we love"), as co-writer.
→ Directing credits Screened at festivals :
- 2022 "Tapping into Freedom" – Director short, selected for Swedish screendance festival - Cinema screening tour.
- 2018 - “Cetacea sensorium” screened on site specific theatre wall at LEGS on The WALL, Sydney, Australia.
- 2017 "Cetacea Sensorium" – Director (short) Screened premiere at 2017 Ningalens film competition - Exmouth, Australia.
- 2017 “Cetacea sensorium 1.0” commissioned for and screened on large scale site specific Marine research building, Exmouth WA, Australia.
→ Other Directing credits:
- 2018 "Live strong, two ways" – Choreography and directing. Co-created and collaboratted on series of 6 shorts with First Nations people of – Arlparra, Ampilatwatja, and Alpurrulam land and Millingimbi (Arnhem Land, Aus.)
→ Award winning films - Creative team credits
- 2019 "Blöd" –Director Kerstin Grunditz Brennan and Annika Bolholm – Dancer in Award winning feature. (SWE.)
- 2017 "Amèliorer" – Director John Carberry. Starred in Award winning dance film (Aus.)
- 2011 "The Sourdough Beat" – Director Dr Treasa O’Brien (London)
- 2009 "Varðeldur" by Sigur Rós - Director Clare Langan, award winning music video. Starred in dance (+ stunt falls / Trampoline) (Ire) Cinematographer/ DP Robbie Ryan of “ Poor Things”.
- 2008 "State of suspension" – Director Clare Langan - Starred in award winning short. (Ire) Cinematographer/ DP Robbie Ryan of “The Lobster”.
- 2007 "Dance Story" AClique Films, Director Donal O'Shea. Starred in full Feature Film : (Incl. All own Stunt fighting.)
FORMAL EDUCATION 3rd level:
1998-1999 - Diploma of Dance perf and education : Colaiste Stiofan Naofa, Ireland.
1999-2001 - Degree in dance at Alvin Ailey school as part of Fordham Uni. NYC.
2018-2020 - MFA Masters Fine Arts research - New contemporary Circus practices.
Fields of research: Circus, Dance, Neuroendocrinology and Marine Mammal Behaviour. At DOCH school for Stockholm university of the Arts.
FILM EDUCATION:
- 2024 Embodied Documentary Filmmaking - courses by IMPRINT docs.
- 2023 + 2024 Current courses as part of Sundance Institute programme - on Directors and Producers track - 41 weeks offered to me so far.
* Documentary filmmaking
* Producing Core elements.
* Directing: Visual Storytelling.
* Directing: How to collaborate with your cinematographer.
* How to Schedule, Budget & Prepare Your Production for Financing.
* Documentary editing
* Documentary Ethics
* Preparing to shoot your first short film.
- 2022 to 2023 incl. - Mentorships with Katie Mc Neice on Film Production and writing, with editor and feminist film maker Kersti Grunditz Brennan (SWE) and film director Tess O'Brien (NZ.) All funded by the Arts Council of Ireland.
- 2022 - Mentorship one on one in film making with Dr Treasa O'Brien (IRE).
- 2020 - DANCE on FILM “DansFILM “Course Cyntia Botello – 7 weeks, Stockholm.
- 2019 - 360 degrees VR Dance film making course – Screen dance fest, Sweden.
We wish to acknowledge the Butchulla people, the Yugambeh people, the clans that make up the Bundjalung Nations, the Turrbal and Yaggera people, as original custodians of the lands and seas where we often work.
Places where stories, culture and art have been made and shared for millennia. Recognising their ancestors, as well as past, current and future elders; whose sovereign country was never ceded.
Australia always was, and always will be, aboriginal land.
We wish to acknowledge the Butchulla people, the Yugambeh people, the clans that make up the Bundjalung Nations, the Turrbal and Yaggera people, as original custodians of the lands and seas where we often work.
Places where stories, culture and art have been made and shared for millennia. Recognising their ancestors, as well as past, current and future elders; whose sovereign country was never ceded.
Australia always was, and always will be, aboriginal land.