JESSICA PETELLE
DIRECTOR | PRODUCER
ABOUT
Jessica Petelle (she/her) is a Director and a Producer of film, television and digital content.
Her debut film, ALL GOOD, world premiered at Palm Springs International Short Fest. Her second short film, ELLIE & SAM, premiered at the Vancouver Women in Film Film Festival the following year. AGE OF DYSPHORIA, starring Laura Vandervoort and Gordon Pinsent, allowed Jessica to utilize her unique skill set of working in action-drama television to the short film medium. She recently participated in the Women in the Director’s Chair Career Advancement Module in Toronto and has been selected as one of ten emerging directors to participate in the prestigious 2020 HBOACCESS Directing Fellowship.
As a digital content producer, she worked with Merman to produce the award-winning interactive digital film OUTAGE for IBM. Other clients include work for Volkswagen, Comedy Central, GaiamTV.com, Fox, SyFy, BlackBoxTV, among others.
Over the past several years, she has felt the embrace of the vibrant filmmaking community in Canada, dedicating time and talent toward international co-production. She has served as a production consultant on FOX’s WAYWARD PINES, and SYFY/SPACE Channel series BITTEN, as a Co-Producer for two seasons of THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES for Viacom, and as a Co-Executive Producer for the Netflix Original Series, V- WARS, starring Ian Somerhalder and Adrian Holmes.
This past November, Jessica was an Executive Producer and 2nd Unit Director on the action thriller TRIGGER POINT, starring Barry Pepper, Colm Feore and Eve Harlow for Landmark Studio Group. She is in development as an EP and Director on SAFEHAVEN, a supernatural horror thriller series for Crackle+.
A graduate of Indiana University with degrees in Theatre and Telecommunications, Jessica was recently appointed to represent alumni in the music and entertainment industry on the board of the Indiana University Alumni Association LA. She is a member of the Producers Guild of America serving on the International Committee, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Alliance of Women Directors, and Women in Film and Television (LA and Toronto).
WORK
AGE OF DYSPHORIA is a short film that examines memory – the joy of it, the curse, and the unpredictability of what we find ourselves remembering the longest. It examines healing and the need for human connection.
SYNOPSIS
FINLEY (Laura Vandervoort) is a woman adrift, her life smashed to pieces by a recent tragedy. But now she’s been sober for a handful of months and feels ready to make amends to the one person she hurt the most. Because of their traumatic history, her sponsor is vehemently opposed, but after talking with a sober friend, WES (Rainbow Sun Francks) she decides the only way to move forward is to revisit the past. As Fin approaches FRED (Gordon Pinsent) at the diner he frequents, she braces for his reaction when he sees her - but to her shock, Fred doesn’t react at all. In fact, he tells her to sit down. Beckons the waitress - orders her “the usual”. And Fin realizes that Fred, struggling with Alzheimer’s, believes Fin to be his wife, Stella. Unsure how to correct him, and relieved he doesn’t recognize her for who she is yet, Fin plays along - with consequences more devastating than Fin could ever have imagined.
Learn more at www.ageofdysphoriafilm.com
ALL GOOD
Leila (Diana Gitelman) is white-knuckling it tonight. After spending the evening at a wedding reception fulfilling her duties as the Maid of Honor, she has returned to her hotel suite to hide away from temptation and maintain her near 6 months of sobriety. Fun-loving Josh (Avi Rothman) arrives at her door and provides a welcome distraction.
ELLIE AND SAM
The vast beauty of Lake Huron's coast mirrors the immense challenge faced by six-year-old Ellie and her brother Sam as they prepare to move on after the death of their parents. This quietly contemplative film creates a powerful mood.
PRESS
CONTACT
TV/FILM AGENTS
Brant Rose & Toochis Morin
Brant Rose Agency
(323) 460-6464