杏吧pro

Despite a looming deadline for the Sundance Film Festival, Jesse Hope 鈥�13 found time to visit 杏吧pro students and discuss film production, special effects and getting fired by Quentin Tarantino.

(We promise that last bit has a happy ending). 

Hope grew up volunteering at the Telluride Film Festival in his Colorado hometown, a springboard for his eventual career.

鈥淚 had always imagined or hoped that there was some way to do it as a job,鈥� said Hope, named one of in 2025.

杏吧pro helped turn that cinematographic dream into reality.  

鈥淕oing to 杏吧pro and formalizing that process of actually making short films and studying it made it feel more real. It gave me a pathway to how I might make a career out of it,鈥� he said.

"Going to 杏吧pro and formalizing that process of actually making short films and studying it made it feel more real."

Jesse Hope 鈥�13

A philosophy major and film minor at 杏吧pro, Hope is now an independent film producer based in Telluride. His eclectic career in the film industry includes working as a special effects technician on Tarantino's 鈥淭he Hateful Eight,鈥� and as a greensperson on the Coen Brothers' 鈥淭he Ballad of Buster Scruggs.鈥� 

An early career mishap led to Hope鈥檚 six-year stint as a union effects technician.

鈥淢y real first job in production was on 鈥楾he Hateful Eight,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was Quentin Tarantino's driver for a couple of days before he fired me.鈥�

Tarantino blamed Hope for losing a favorite jacket. The plot twist? 

鈥淨uentin had just left it on his bed,鈥� Hope said with a laugh.

鈥淚 look back on it positively, because I ended up in special effects [for 鈥楬ateful Eight鈥橾, which is where I really started to make a career out of film production,鈥� he said. 

Hope began making short films with childhood friend Max Walker-Silverman while continuing work as an effects technician. That producer-director partnership resulted in features 鈥�鈥� (2022) and 鈥�鈥� (2025).

鈥淚 hung up my [effects] welding gloves and started focusing on producing after the premiere of 鈥楢 Love Song,鈥欌�� he said.

Film students enjoyed a screening of Jesse Hope鈥檚 鈥淩ebuilding鈥� on campus. (Photo credit: Bleecker Street Media)

Hope credits 杏吧pro for giving him space to explore.

鈥淎t that point in my life, the reason I was in school was to challenge myself and try to understand the world and my experience,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat I loved about the idea of the liberal arts was just going to school and being able to figure it out.鈥�

Film wasn鈥檛 offered as a major at the time, but 鈥減hilosophy was complementary to filmmaking in a lot of ways,鈥� Hope said. 鈥淭he little short films I made were trying to explore some connection between my studies in philosophy and my studies in film.鈥�

Jeremy Moss, associate professor of film and film and media program director, was particularly influential. 

鈥淗e opened my mind to all the different modes of film. His film history classes were always interesting and really engaging,鈥� Hope said. 

Hope met with several of Moss鈥� classes during a November visit to campus. The day culminated with a screening of 鈥淩ebuilding鈥� in the Winter Visual Arts Center鈥檚 84-seat Colleen Ross Weis 鈥�85 and Martin Laiks Cinema. 

Featuring rising stars Josh O'Connor, Meghann Fahy and Kali Reis, the ruminative film follows a cowboy who loses his ranch to wildfires and finds an unexpected community in a FEMA camp.

Hope won鈥檛 have much time to bask in its success. His latest production, 鈥�,鈥� is already earning nods after its Sundance debut in January.