Jose Acosta

Faculty Member

Office: Music Education 208

College of Arts & Sciences
JoseAcosta@clayton.edu
Phone: (678) 466-4750

Biography

José began his career as a 3D animator and soon earned a promotion to Director of Computer Animation at the Art Institute of Atlanta, where he co-wrote the national curriculum. He earned a Southeast EMMY win for his animation work on Salsa, a Spanish-language Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) kid’s educational show, which was syndicated internationally.

He is best known for writing and directing "Edgar Allan Poe’s Mystery Theatre," a 1hr historical drama originally aired on PBS and now on Amazon Prime Video. The TV special garnered him a 2015 Southeast EMMY nomination for best writing, and a Telly Award for directing. His other award-winning indie films include "Hey Zeus" (2019) dramatizing the immigration crisis on the US-Mexican border, which won Best Drama at the Georgia Shorts Film Festival. More recently, José served as VFX Supervisor on Corey Feldman’s feature film "Going Viral" (2024), and cinematographer on feature film "Fried Chicken Day" (2025), which premiered at the Rome International Film Festival.

Education

BA, English Literature, University of Maryland, 1987

MA, Film & Television, Georgia State University, 1991

Awards and Honors

Southeast Emmy nomination, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Award, 2015

Southeast Emmy award, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Award, 1998

Best Drama, Georgia Shorts Film Festival, Award, 2019

Artistic and Professional Performances and Exhibits

Jose Acosta, More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, International Poe Festival, Baltimore – January 1 2023 to October 5 2024

Jose Acosta, Fried Chicken Day, Rome International Film Festival – Summer 9 2023 to November 9 2025

Service to the University & University System of Georgia

Department, Creative Careers Fair, Committee Member – November 2024 to November 2025

University, Global Success Innitiative, Committee Member – August 2024 to January 2025

University System, GFA Evaluation Committee, Committee Member – August 2024 to February 2025

University, Curriculum Committee, Committee Member – August 2025 to May 2026

Service to the Profession

Committee Member, Georgia Latino Film Alliance, International – June 2025 to December 2025

Teaching Interest

Screenwriting, Directing, Producing, Visual Effects, Cinematography, Multi-Cam

Research Interest

The impact of Edgar Allan Poe, and other writers on cinema.
Artificial intelligence. Human perception and consciousness.