Jason Dice Staggie is an author, filmmaker, educator and revolutionary.
He grew up in Cape Town, South Africa where his upbringing forced him to cultivate a love for something – in his case: transgressive and literary novels, and ballsy, thought-provoking films. In 2005 Jason graduated with a double major in Psychology and Film Studies from the University of Cape Town. The next five years he would spend traveling, teaching and charity fundraising in Europe and Asia, specifically Ireland and South Korea.
In 2010 he went to film school in Prague, Czechia where he graduated with a diploma in directing and screenwriting.
In 2013 Jason’s SALA nominated debut novel, Risk was published. In the same year, he was a finalist in the Kevin Spacey Jameson scriptwriting competition.
In 2015, Jason moved to China to write his novel set in Beijing - Fugue State. Upon returning to South Africa in 2021 he released his debut feature documentary, Hard Livings, which premiered at the Durban International Film Festival.
In 2022 he was selected an artist-in-residence as the 55th Bridgeguard in Sturovo/Parkany, Slovakia, where he finished his novel Fugue State and exhibited a Fluxus exhibition based on the novel.
In 2023 Jason was awarded Film Independent’s Global Media Maker Fellowship for his TV series, Risk, and travelled to Los Angeles. In the same year, he was selected for the Realness/Netflix Episodic Lab.
He has two forthcoming novels, Epic and Fugue State. His full feature screenplays, The Rehab and Royals, as well as his TV series concept for his novel Risk are presently in development. He is a recipient of various awards from the NAC and the NFVF.
Jason spends a lot of his time writing and thinking about things to write. When he’s not doing this, he’s teaching, filmmaking, and plotting change – in all its beautiful dimensions.
“To live in the sphere of original thought is indeed a blessing, but also a curse in its driving, relentless obsessions. ”
“I’m living in the mission, and I cannot envision a life lived any other way.”
“I don’t believe that my talents necessarily belong to me. They belong to God, they belong to the oppressed, they belong to the discriminated against, and they belong to the countless hungry kids going to bed tonight. These are the people that drive me, these are the issues that touch me, and inevitably these are the things that fuel the fire in my veins. ”