Tessa’s debut feature documentary Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me premiered at SXSW and was released theatrically, starting with the Quad Theater in New York. It was selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for its Outstanding Documentary series and aired on Showtime and Oxygen.

Tessa’s Election Night premiered at the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was acquired by Shorts International. It debuted theatrically in November and can be found on iTunes, Amazon & Hulu.

Leave Keys in Car, a comedy short Tessa made in Hawaii, won Best Comedy at the Lady Filmmaker Festival and Best of Fest at the Bahamas International Film Festival. It was acquired for broadcast from Shorts International.

Upended, a drama directed by Tessa, starring Amy Landecker (Transparent), premiered at AFI in 2023.

Produced by Issa Rae, Tessa helmed Words with Girls, a new-media comedy pilot created by Brittani Nichols, which premiered at the HBO Urbanworld Film Festival.

With Emma Hewitt, Tessa documented the experience of women coming out of prison. Susan, produced by Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia, aired nationally on Moyers & Company on PBS. Tessa recently received the Industry Impact Award from A NEW WAY OF LIFE: PRISON REENTRY PROJECT.

Her documentary Project ALS won the Media that Matters Award at The Human Rights Watch Film Festival and Best Short Film at the Nantucket Film Festival.