About Jason Rosette: Filmmaker • University Educator • Producer • Communications Coach

Award-winning filmmaker turned executive communications coach. Thirty years directing documentaries (BookWars, GI Says), and fiction (Lost in New Mexico, Freedom Deal), teaching at universities across Southeast Asia, and producing for organizations like USAID and Microsoft Philanthropies. Now I help global leaders command the digital stage through VoiceStoryPro™ coaching and cinematic learning design.

I'm Jason Rosette—filmmaker, multimedia producer, and executive communications coach. I help global leaders command the digital stage by applying a director's lens to performance and learning design.

My path started in small-town Ohio, making Super-8 films in the backyard. That early obsession led me to NYU Film, where I earned a BFA in Film & TV on scholarships—one from caddying at an Ohio country club, another from NYU itself.

Right after graduating NYU, I directed my first independent drama, Charlie's Box, and later produced the award-winning documentary BookWars—which the LA Times called "Terrific" and the NY Film Critics Circle praised as "Superb." I shot, co-produced, edited, directed, and narrated it, learning by doing. While working as a sidewalk bookseller in Manhattan to pay the bills, I absorbed lessons in persistence and hustle that still define how I work.

After NYU, I wrote, directed, and acted in Lost in New Mexico, a microbudget drama that demanded everything I had. To make it work, I took an approved leave from the Screen Actors Guild—our budget couldn't cover union actor workman's comp insurance.

A New Chapter in Asia

In 2005, I bought a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia. I landed first in Hanoi, then headed to Thailand for TEFL training in Bangkok. During a long bus ride from Saigon—with a stopover in Phnom Penh—I got my first glimpse of Cambodia. The country was rebuilding its media and education sectors after the Khmer Rouge era, and I saw an opportunity to contribute to both.

I settled in Phnom Penh, teaching English while immersing myself in the emerging media landscape. I helped build Cambodia's first video production program at the Royal University of Phnom Penh's Department of Media and Communications, where I also lectured. Freelancing on the side, I shot, edited, and produced documentaries for NGOs. During this time, I earned a Master's degree in International Development Studies from RUPP—one of only two foreign students in the program, supervised by Nagoya University of Japan.

A career highlight was launching CamboFest, Cambodia's first internationally recognized film festival since the Khmer Rouge years. Despite challenges like rampant piracy and competing events, CamboFest laid the groundwork for future festivals in the region, including the France-EU funded Cambodia International Film Festival and Laos' Luang Prabang Film Festival.

Expanding in Thailand

I moved to Bangkok and took on an unusual gig: forensic editor for a troubled half-million-dollar feature filmcalled 'Pirate's Curse'. Using dream sequences and voiceovers, I reworked it into a viable TV movie; this saved the producers $500,000 which would otherwise have been lost.

I also founded the Bangkok IndieFest, the first cultural event held after the city's Red Shirt protests. Despite curfews and political unrest, we pushed forward—and CNN Go featured the festival as a pick.

During this period, I taught directing and documentary filmmaking at Srinakharinwirot University's College of Social Communication and Innovation and co-authored Swordsman, a feature-length animated screenplay for Thailand-based Imagimax.

Back to Cambodia, Then Myanmar

Returning to Cambodia, I produced an educational video series for a USAID project supporting Cambodia's garment industry. With those earnings, I developed Freedom Deal: Story of Lucky, a supernatural historical drama about the 1970 US-ARVN Cambodia Incursion. I directed it in Khmer with a Cambodian crew and crowdfunded it on IndieGogo—one of the first Cambodian projects on the platform.

Then came an opportunity in Rangoon (now Yangon), Myanmar. I taught English at the US Embassy's American Center for a year (2013-2014). Internet was scarce, but I used the embassy's connection to submit Freedom Deal to festivals worldwide.

After Myanmar, I returned to Cambodia, settling in Siem Reap (home of Angkor Wat), where I taught academic writing and public speaking while building my stock footage business and exploring panoramic photography.

Music and Recent Work

Music has always been part of my creative life. As Gone Marshall, I released three alternative EPs and several singles, learning mixing and production inside-out. Songwriting, like short filmmaking, lets me craft tight, vivid narratives.

During COVID-19, I performed at open mics and gigs across Cambodia, sharpening my stage presence. Later, I evolved into crooning vintage jazz and pop standards as Robert Marleigh, inspired by Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bobby Darin. I've released an EP and several singles, and continue performing regionally in Asia and remotely for international producers.

Since 2021, I've returned to filmmaking with projects like the antiwar documentary GI Says, while re-entering the voiceover industry—lending my voice to audiobooks, promos, commercials, and character roles for games and animations. You can hear samples on my voiceover page.

Looking Ahead

My recent work focuses on VoiceStoryPro™, where I coach CEOs, founders, and subject matter experts to command the digital screen by applying film-industry directing techniques to executive performance.

I also design high-impact eLearning experiences using Narrative Architecture—fusing cinematic structure with instructional rigor for organizations like USAID and Microsoft Philanthropies.

Based between the USA and Asia, I work with clients across GMT, EST, and SGT/ASEAN time zones.

To explore my work, visit my portfolio or connect with me on LinkedIn. I'd welcome hearing from you—email me!

All the Best,
Jason Rosette