Kristin Hawley Dossetti

Film Sales and Distribution

By Nicole Sweeney / Created 2012-05-01

Kristin Hawley Dossetti may have returned to the US after graduating from AUP in 1996, but she has carried Paris with her every step of the way. Her time in Paris not only gave her skills and a background that opened doors and facilitated opportunities, but also expanded her own perspective on where her journey could take her.

When Kristin first arrived in Paris, she was sure that her future was in acting. “My years at AUP actually guided me away from what I thought was my true calling,” she says. AUP gave Kristin a fresh outlook, and she credits her experiences at AUP with, “Opening my mind, broadening my horizons, and giving me the tools to pursue an international path in life.” While a student at AUP, Kristin made an effort to invest herself in the cultural life of the University there, serving as secretary of the SGA, working at the Amex, and participating in countless clubs and activities. “The support of stellar professors and small class sizes that guaranteed individual attention allowed me to investigate and develop my persona by custom-tailoring my university experience -- and all this in the City of Light!”

After graduating from AUP with a BA in European Cultural Studies and Philosophy, Kristin was accepted to the University of Southern California’s Peter Stark Producing Program in the renowned School of Cinematic Arts. She was one of only twenty students accepted into the program that year, and her international education and unique course work were key to her acceptance. “Special thanks here to Professors Scollen, Latham, and Charyn!” she adds. Though no longer pursuing an acting career, Kristin remained in the world of film, receiving her Master of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Producing.

From film school Kristin found her way into international television distribution. Her job took her to Cannes twice a year for industry markets MIP and MIPCOM where her French language skills and cultural fluency, honed at AUP, were invaluable to her career advancement and success.

Now at Getty Images, Kristin works in the company’s premium portraiture, lifestyle, fashion and beauty collection division, Contour. Her job involves working with Getty’s international team of sales people and photographers, as well as film studios, broadcast networks, publications, advertising agencies, and corporate clients. “The communication skills, appreciation for diversity and ability to see opportunities and challenges from multiple perspectives I learned at AUP are, to say the least, job requirements.”

And it’s not just her professional life that has been profoundly impacted by her experiences at AUP.  Though she met her husband in Los Angeles, she jokes, “Is it surprising that he happened to be French?” The pair now have a seven-year-old daughter who attends the Lycée Français de Los Angeles and a circle of friends that includes many Europeans. Her husband also recently opened a French café and wine bar called ZINQUE.

“My experiences at AUP have permeated, influenced and cross-pollinated my professional and personal lives in ways I never imagined possible while I was there.” Like many alumni, she credits her time at AUP not just with unique academic experiences, but as a fundamentally transformative place. “Paris itself served as a laboratory for invention and discovery. It remains for me, as it was for Hemingway, ‘a moveable feast.’”

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