Jessie is looking at her reflection in a mirror. The tiles are a sage green and her face is lit by an orange glow.
Jessie is looking at her reflection in a mirror. The tiles are a sage green and her face is lit by an orange glow.

Alumni Spotlight: Jessie Pettit

At UWL, we’re all about opening doors for our students. University is a great time to take advantage of all the opportunities that are open to you and figure out what your skills and goals are for a successful future. That was certainly the case for Jessie Pettit, who studied Media with us after moving to London from the United States.

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It was a cultural adventure. I grew up in Michigan and there’s not a lot of culture there. Now if you want to study media in the US you go to Los Angeles. I lived there for a while, but it didn’t have the sense of community I was looking for. London, is smaller and more condensed, but still very lively and cultural, there’s so many people to meet and it’s so much easier to build communities.” 

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Jessie has shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She is smiling and wearing a light blue shirt.

During her time at UWL, Jessie threw herself into building up her skills, spending time on film sets as an extra, chatting to producers and volunteering to help them on future projects. 

I figured out I was good at organising, producing, creative direction and things like that. But moving outside of that, you need to be constantly looking for opportunities. I’d join Facebook groups, researching and putting posts out there letting people know what skills you offer.” 

Since then, Jessie continued to develop her skills, and realised how much she wanted to take on more leadership projects. Eventually, this resulted in her starting her own companies: The British Filming Touring Company and the London Film House.

A camera operator focuses on a human subject

These companies help transform ideas into projects by bringing together motivated people with the right skill sets. Jessie’s particular passions lie in helping aspiring filmmakers tell stories that wouldn’t traditionally have been told.  

It’s important, from a female perspective, to write things that are coming from a new direction that isn’t focused on straight white males. This is how you change the media, by telling your own type of stories, not just trying to help someone else tell their story. I’ve definitely, as a woman, faced comments that essentially say I wasn’t strong enough, or I didn’t have enough pull to get something made. It still exists certainly, but you hope that the work you’re doing is helping to change things.”

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In the future, Jessie hopes to take the British Filming Touring Company around the country, running workshops aimed at helping young filmmakers who don’t have access to film equipment or networking opportunities.  

I want to let people know what it’s really like in the industry. A lot of people think media is just fun, glamorous and Hollywood, but it is a lot of work. It’s very long hours, a lot of writing, planning out proposals, briefs, storyboards. Everything takes a lot of time, a lot of research and a lot critical thinking.” 

In 2022, Jessie was nominated for the UWL Alumni Entrepreneur Award in recognition of her work establishing companies aimed at helping others.  

Video camera set up to record a news event

She had this advice to offer anyone hoping to make it in the media field:  

Have a vast range of skills in your area, be able to do a vast number of things. Be open to expanding your horizons. If you’re a Director of Photography, learn how to direct. If you’re a cinematographer, learn how to do event videos instead of just focusing on narrative work.

Don’t overwhelm yourself but learn a few additional skills that could help you expand what you’re doing.” 

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