SIU Alumni Spotlight — Brian Rose
M.F.A. 2009 — College of Mass Communication and Media Arts
When Kansas City filmmaker and SIU alumnus Brian Rose won Best Heartland Feature Documentary in the 2019 Kansas City Film Festival for his feature, “When I Last Saw Jesse,” it came as a surprise.
“I had entered two films in the festival before this one, and quite frankly I was up against a lot of films I thought were more deserving than mine, but for some reason “Jesse” struck a nerve and I won,” Rose said.
Rose’s documentary-style film tracks the disappearance of 19-year-old University of Missouri-Kansas City student, Jesse Ross, who vanished without a trace in 2006 during a Model UN trip to Chicago.
“Jesse was a sophomore at the time. We can place him at the Sheraton Hotel, but then, he was never seen again. To date, no body has been found,” Rose said.
Rose said the film, which took about six years to complete, will hold its Chicago premiere this Saturday, September 7, and again on Wednesday, September 11, at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.
“Jesse’s story became sort of an obsession. I mean here is this man, about my age, who just vanishes. And I had just been in Chicago just days before he went missing. It was a huge story in the media at the time, and I found myself really intrigued by the mystery of it,” Rose said.
The documentary, which is shot in 60 mm, is 90 percent black and white and POV-style, is a bit unconventional in its visual approach.
While Rose interviews Jesse’s family, chaperones on the trip, other students and investigators, we never see them. Rather, the viewer is presented with footage retracing his route, and his interactions, on that last night he was seen alive.
In the small percentage of the film that is not black an white, Rose used color when presenting things like the clothing Jesse was wearing the night he went missing.
“I thought using color was important because we’re talking about physical descriptors, and we’re seeing, in some cases, photos of Jesse before he disappears. That’s important from an investigative perspective, and from the perspective of informing the audience,” Rose said.
In addition to making his own films, of which there are now six, Rose works full time as a writer, editor and archivist for Wide Awake Films, a creative media group focused on “innovative, efficient execution of historical, commercial, and corporate video and film production.”
“When I graduated from SIU in 2009, the economy and the job market were in very poor shape. Luckily, I was able to graduate without debt so that bought me some peace of mind. After freelancing for a while, the job market rebounded and I was fortunate to find Wide Awake and have been with them ever since,” Rose said.
Rose came to SIU as a graduate student after completing undergraduate work in history and psychology at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.
“I had applied to several universities, but Carbondale gave me the best offer as far as financial aid was concerned. I was without a doubt interested in the program because of the reputation of the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts for documentary film making, but they really made it possible for me to attend,” Rose said.
Rose said that unlike undergraduate students, who have a larger social experience on campus, as a master’s degree student he was in a very time-condensed program and came to campus to work more than socialize.
“I’ll put it this way: If I have a regret, it’s that I didn’t explore and enjoy the area the more, because honestly, my fondest memory is of my time there is the beauty of the region surrounding Carbondale,” Rose said.
However, Rose said, the faculty he was exposed to made his time on campus really valuable.
“I had a lot of great teachers, but will give a shout out to Tony Williams, who calls the English Department his home base, and is just an amazing resource. He was really tough, but I found him to be the kind of guy who just by the nature of his knowledge and his presence, commands a certain level of respect that fosters the inclination to really want to do your best work,” Rose said.
In his down time, Rose enjoys running, yoga, and restoring old electrical appliances. His latest project is restoring a couple of old 40s and 50s television sets.
With regard to his documentary, “When I Last Saw Jesse,” Rose said he would love it if the film’s debut in Chicago induced the Chicago Police Force to re-open the case to take another look at it.
“It would be great if there were one more search. But if nothing else ever comes about, at least there is this film that exists as a kind of a tribute to this young man who had all sorts of dreams and ambitions that ended one night in November 2006. We get so wrapped up in our lives that it’s easy to forget about people like him,” Rose said.
Through his work at Wide Awake films, Rose has scripted three feature-length documentaries for public television, two of which won an Emmy award for Best Historical Documentary, and have screened on PBS, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
In addition, Rose has independently produced and directed four documentary features on subjects including student activism in the 1960s and American imperialism in the mid-19th century.
For more information about attending the upcoming Chicago screenings of “When I Last Saw Jesse,” please visit: https://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/when-i-last-saw-jesse.
Rose will be in attendance at both screenings and the following audience discussions, and hopes our Alumni will attend.
Alumni Spotlight celebrates our Saluki Alumni and their memories of their time at SIU Carbondale. We focus on a different Alumni each week, and publish the feature on Wednesday afternoons on our Blog, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.
If you’d like to be the focus of this weekly feature, or nominate someone to be featured, please get in touch with the SIU Alumni Association, or email us at alumni.siu.edu.
