director jessica peterson
Jessica Peterson is a travel filmmaker, photographer, and journalist. She released her first documentary film about indigenous culture on Guam in 2016, after having lived nearly 7 years on the Pacific island. Jessica then spent two years on the Great American Roadtrip in her Airstream trailer.
Jessica has been traveling the world since she was 21. She started a career in music journalism at 19 and has since expanded her skills to include marketing, photography, web design, and filmmaking.
In 2011, Jessica quit her full-time job to be an independent blogger, journalist, photographer, and filmmaker. Building on the success of her first blog, The Guam Guide, Jessica launched Global Girl Travels in 2014.
History
In 2014, Jessica went behind the scenes at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. From the pit, she photographed Lorde, SBTRKT, OK Go, Bombay Bicycle Club, Travis, Foster the People, and Outkast.
United Airlines invited Jessica on press trips to Australia and Hong Kong. She has since worked with hotels and tour companies in China, Iceland, and Sydney.
In February 2015, her cover story and photography appeared in United Airlines Hemispheres Magazine. Jessica’s work has also been published in MSN, AOL, Citysearch, Jezebel, The Dallas Morning News, The Dallas Observer, Outside Magazine, Fubiz, Reuters, and Lonely Planet.
In 2016, Jessica completed her first documentary, “American Soil, Chamorro Soul,” about the people of Guam. From fundraising to directing, Jessica is a born entrepreneur, wearing as many hats as it takes to complete a project. She wrote, directed, produced, and edited the film. The trailer has been viewed more than 1 million times and was the centerpiece in the Guam International Film Festival.
Also in 2016, Jessica was hired by Tastemade Travel to produce video content for the company’s popular travel app. She hosted monthly Facebook live events to Tastemade Travel, which has nearly half a million followers. Jessica regularly produces travel videos for Tastemade, such as this China video which racked up 1 million views in one day.
She was twice hired by Barcelo Hotels to produce destination travel videos, which she wrote, directed, and starred in.
In addition to Global Girl Travels, she is the creator of The Guam Guide, a business she manages from sales and accounting to web design and publishing. She produced more than 200 travel TV segments for The Guam Guide, which aired on Guam broadcast news channels.
In 2017, Jessica’s Niagara Falls footage was featured on CNN Great Big Story.
She produced a documentary short for CNN Great Big Story about Compton Jr. Posse, a non-profit in a tough neighborhood keeping kids on horses and off the streets.
Also in 2017, Jessica traveled to Mexico to produce three more travel films for Barcelo Hotels. She landed in Fairbanks, Alaska to shoot film and photographs for Matador Network in partnership with Explore Fairbanks.
Jessica photographed the cover of the October 2017 Alaska Magazine.
Jessica’s films, Niagara, Bali Aria, and Alaska: Unsetting Sun have been featured in the National Geographic Travel short film showcase.
Ovation, an arts channel with 50-million subscribers, launched a new travel channel called Journy with Global Girl Travels as one of eight series to premier on it.
In March 2018, Jessica became a full-time travel filmmaker for Matador Network.
