PJSaysell-Rosales

PJ was born in Poole, Dorset on the 4th March 1993 to Peter T. Saysell and Fatima Saysell, both teachers. He is of Welsh and Spanish descent.

PJ discovered his love for film production at the young age of 4, at his grandparents’ house in Bournemouth, where he used his grandfather’s video camera to make short films and documentaries in a makeshift studio in the living room. Shortly afterwards, he and his parents moved to Bognor Regis, West Sussex where he started full-time education. He continued to explore his passion for film and develop his skills throughout school, eventually setting up an after-school activity where he made a series of short films with his classmates.

Committed to his ambition of becoming a Hollywood producer and fueled by a genuine adoration for the craft, PJ spent time between classes making films in the school cellars.

Leaving secondary school with 6 GCSEs in his pocket, PJ went on to study media production at Northbrook College Sussex graduating with two Distinctions and a Merit. He studied for a Foundation Degree in creative practices at the same place, however, dropped out after the first two years to pursue commercial video production.

Following many years of networking and experimental short films, PJ worked as a boom operator on the award-winning short film Learning to Talk. Following this experience, he launched his company Phoenix Rising Media to provide video services to a wide market and produced Malefaction (2017), his first professional short film written and directed by Adam Price which went on to receive nominations for Best Thriller and Best Screenplay at Aesthetica International Short Film Festival, 2017. In Feburary 2017, he joined the Producers Foundation Certificate taught by Elliot Grove and professional guests at Raindance. A month later, PJ reopened Phoenix Rising Media with Tom Flynn as a film production studio to specialise in producing feature-length films for theatrical release.