Jessi Gutch

Jessi Gutch

Jessi Gutch is a British independent filmmaker, with a particular interest in documentary and narrative stories. Living with incurable ovarian cancer, she is committed to working with disabled talent and representing illness, dying and death in an empowering and celebratory way. Also, living in Folkestone, Jessi is keen to make films that are both set in and bring more industry opportunities to the Kent region.

With Holly Butcher, Jessi set up Fig Films (named after Holly’s cat), where they have created several short films. The pair want to collaborate with historically marginalised people, while driving a new wave of feminine filmmaking. Among Fig’s output over the past few years were The Forgotten C (2020), which was nominated for the British Independent Film Award for Best British Short; Blind as a Beat (2021); and Octopus (2022).

Having worked with industry funders The Uncertain Kingdom, BFI, Doc Society, Audible and Arts Council England, in 2021 Jessi was selected for the BFI Network@LFF initiative, aimed at industry trailblazers trying to make their first feature-length film. She currently has three shorts (Home, Let Her Go and The Guest) and two features (My Cells are Trying to Kill Me and Border Town) in development.

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