Independent filmmakers Alexander Jeffery and Paul Petersen will present at the next IGNITE colloquium on Friday, Sept. 20 at 12:30 p.m. in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts Rm. 101. The event is free and open to the public.

IGNITE is a weekly colloquium for all Carson Center students, which will involve guest lectures, workshops and seminars around creative and professional development. The Center is located at 1300 Q St.

Alexander Jeffery was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada right before the 1988 Winter Olympics. This somehow had no impact on his career trajectory, as he decided to pursue the arts for a living. His short film, The Bespoke Tailoring of Mister Bellamy, won the 2015 Louisiana Film Prize and went on to receive other accolades on the film festival circuit and become Oscar-qualified. MTV called it “an acutely relevant, achingly human film.” Alexander received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, one in Film & New Media, the other in Theatre Performance. In 2018, he was selected to receive the Early Achiever Award from his University’s alumni association. Like his grandfather, who had a monumental impact on his life, Alexander wishes to be a lifelong student of the world. He is a co-owner of Bespoke Works LLC with Paul Petersen and is currently preparing to direct his second feature film, Molto Bella, set in Sicily.


Paul Petersen is a writer, actor, director and co-owner of the film production company Bespoke Works LLC. In the El Dorado Film Festival’s inaugural year, his short film The Beacon won best of fest and ever since he’s written and produced multiple short films and music videos including The Bespoke Tailoring of Mister Bellamy, Memoir, An Aria for Albrights, Girl Steals Painting, and most recently Esmeralda. He currently resides in Shreveport, LA where he is working in development on the upcoming feature Molto Bella directed by Alexander Jeffery and starring Andrea von Kampen. Paul bleeds Husker red. In fact, his full middle name is Thomas Osborne.