00:00:00:00 - 00:00:02:02 Unknown Hi, everybody. My name is Jay Garren. 00:00:02:03 - 00:00:18:12 Unknown I'm a filmmaker. I'm a graduate of Cal State San Bernardino. And the inaugural person to bring you Inland Empire's first ever black film festival. And I'm just really, really excited to be here. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I have a passion for filmmaking, and I have a passion for education. 00:00:18:12 - 00:00:33:00 Unknown Bar daddy tells the story of Al Jenkins. Al Jenkins graduated from Loyola marymount University in 1975. When he graduated, he realized he was one of the few African Americans out of his class to pass the bar. 00:00:33:01 - 00:00:55:09 Unknown So what he started doing as he started training other African Americans to pass the bar. Fast forward, over 40 years later, he is actually still doing it. The movie bar daddy essentially takes his early student and follows him throughout the entire process, and not going to give it away tells you whether or not they actually get to pass the bar or not. 00:00:55:11 - 00:01:22:14 Unknown But it's really a story of mentorship, and the reason why it's so important to me is I'll happens to be my uncle. And it was just so it's a very, very personal story. And what motivated me was I found out about a sobering statistic. African Americans make up 5% of the legal profession. However, they also make up 35% of the incarcerated. 00:01:22:16 - 00:01:31:18 Unknown My goal with Bar Daddy is to somehow change that just a little bit. And, that's that's why I really made the film. 00:01:31:20 - 00:01:45:14 Unknown What it means to have Bar Daddy featured at the inaugural Inland Empire Black Film Festival. It means that there's a place for our voices to be heard during this Black History Month. 00:01:45:15 - 00:02:05:06 Unknown And not only is Bar Daddy being featured. There's other wonderful films like Haley and Dreamscape. There's a lot of great films that are going to be featured there as well. So what it means to me is it just means the community coming together and just celebrating, because that's really what African-American history is about. It's just about celebration and featuring. 00:02:05:08 - 00:02:09:04 Unknown And that's really the goal of the festival, and that's why we're doing it. 00:02:09:06 - 00:02:31:15 Unknown What it means to have Bar Daddy featured and showcase at the IE Black Film Festival. It means that there's a place for representation. And it means that Cal State San Bernardino is a place that welcomes representation. And that's why I was so important for me to bring the film to this location. It means that artists are going to be heard. 00:02:31:17 - 00:02:41:06 Unknown It means that stories are going to be seen. That's what it means to have it here. Amazing. So why do events like this matter right now? 00:02:41:08 - 00:03:07:13 Unknown The reason why events like this matter is not just this generation. Future generations that come after this generation are going to see these films. And they need to see a representation of themselves that is positive. They need to see a representation of themselves as aspirational and every single film was hand curated. And they all are inspirational and they all are motivational. 00:03:07:16 - 00:03:12:11 Unknown For future African-Americans that can see and learn from. 00:03:12:13 - 00:03:24:21 Unknown when I think about Cass de San Bernardino, one of the biggest things I think about is a library. I mean, I would literally spend, I would say five, six, seven, eight hours in that library every single day. 00:03:24:23 - 00:03:43:19 Unknown And I would go all the way up to the top because that's where I can have my privacy. And I would study, go to sleep, get up, study, go to sleep, get up. And what I love so much about the university is that it was so welcoming to me. And it got me. It understood me. My professors understood me. 00:03:43:21 - 00:04:05:19 Unknown They allowed me to be creative. I learned so much in the communications department, whether it be mass communications, whether it be intercultural communications. Those are things that I take with me today. Every single day. I use some of the things that I learned at Cal State University, and it's just a center of excellence. And I just really, really enjoyed my time here. 00:04:05:22 - 00:04:08:00 Unknown And I'm so glad that I get to return. 00:04:08:02 - 00:04:25:05 Unknown Sure. Probably the professor that sticks out the most is Professor Bresnahan. And once again, she taught me intercultural communications. So what she did early on in my life is she taught me appreciation for other cultures that were different than my own. 00:04:25:07 - 00:04:49:14 Unknown And I really, really learned so much in that class. And we got to study different ethnicities. We got to study, their food, their music. I mean, their faves. I mean, there's just so many different things that we got to study from that intercultural communications class. So I really, really enjoyed, her class. And, if I can say thank you, Doctor Bresnahan, I appreciate you. 00:04:49:16 - 00:05:12:10 Unknown What it means to be back at CSUSB showing my films. It's just humbling. It says that CSUSB is a welcoming place. It says that once you graduate from CSUSB. That's not it. The school sticks by you. The school stays with you, and the school offers its resources, whether it be its professors or whatever it may be. 00:05:12:10 - 00:05:20:23 Unknown They stay with you. And that's what I love about CSU, SB. Once you graduate, you have a friend, and you're a coyote for life. 00:05:21:01 - 00:05:31:04 Unknown I've thought about this a lot. And I think part of the reason why a lot of my films, have the topic of mentorship is because growing up, that's what I was looking for. 00:05:31:08 - 00:05:53:11 Unknown I mean, I grew up, by with a single mom, and I love my mom so much. But my dad was not always that active in my life, and I think I was always looking for that male mentorship figure. So, I think in a weird way, I just started creating films with great mentors. You mentioned Inglewood morning sessions. 00:05:53:13 - 00:06:12:07 Unknown Lieutenant Scott Collins is an amazing mentor. He mentored NBA superstar, Paul Pierce. And I learned so much by being in their presence. And I think that's part of the reason why I focus so much on mentoring, because I needed it myself. So I no other youth needed it as well. 00:06:12:09 - 00:06:27:12 Unknown The way my work connects to the legacy of black filmmakers that came before me. I would say I'm just humbled to even be in the presence and be able to make films. So I'm connected by the inspiration that they give me. 00:06:27:14 - 00:06:44:12 Unknown And I can go all the way back to the 1930s with Oscar Maché and, I mean, so I've, I've been studying film my whole entire life, and I'm just humbled to be able to make films and I'm just completely humbled to be able to showcase my films. 00:06:44:14 - 00:06:59:05 Unknown My top three favorite film directors. Yeah, I would have to say first, Tyler Perry, just because of his ability to do so much, whether it be films, whether it be television, whether it be writing, whether it be producing. 00:06:59:07 - 00:07:18:22 Unknown He has so many skills. So definitely would be one of my top. And of course, the legend, Spike Lee, who I'm also inspired by. He's also a tenured professor at NYU, which actually was one of the things that motivated me to go into education as well, because he showed that you can actually do both, which I thought was really cool. 00:07:19:00 - 00:07:32:03 Unknown And then from the younger generation, Ryan Coogler, I mean, the things that he's been he's been able to accomplish at such a young age, is very, very inspirational. And, he's just an excellent filmmaker as well. 00:07:32:05 - 00:07:52:04 Unknown What I want. Well, two things. The first thing is I just want people to do what they have the ability to do. And example, I'm a filmmaker, so as far as me pushing social justice and me helping communicate community. For me is film. For somebody else. They may be a doctor, somebody else, maybe a lawyer, whatever it may be. 00:07:52:10 - 00:08:20:16 Unknown I just want people to be inspired to do something with what they have. The other thing is, as I mentioned earlier, with 5% of African Americans passing up making up the legacy with 5% of African Americans making up the legal profession, but 35% in the incarcerated, whether it be state or federal prison. That has got to change. That is a problem that people need to look at, and that's something that needs to be fixed. 00:08:20:20 - 00:08:34:19 Unknown And that's why I hope that this film inspires lawyers, judges, law clerks, whatever it may be, to try to make a difference and try to help change that statistic around. 00:08:34:21 - 00:08:58:21 Unknown I really hope that this movie sparks conversations in the area of legal profession. Let me explain what I mean by that. Currently, only 5% of African-Americans make up the legal profession. However, 35% make up the incarcerated. I would really like a discussion to be had on how to change that. Maybe it could be more training for youth. 00:08:58:23 - 00:09:18:01 Unknown Maybe it could be. I'm inviting over 20 youth to see Bar Daddy. Hopefully to inspire them to want to go into the legal profession. So I would really like to see people walk away with a passion, walk away with wanting to do something and wanting to somehow change those statistics. 00:09:18:03 - 00:09:37:06 Unknown What made me join the Pan-African alumni chapter is I wanted to have a sense of community, and I wanted to return home. And the alumni chapter welcomed me, and I got to meet a lot of new people. I got to make a lot of new connections, and they've just been really excited about the film they're excited about. 00:09:37:06 - 00:09:45:22 Unknown They're going to actually table at the film, so they'll have the alumni chapter table there, and we'll get to meet people. And yeah, they've been very supportive. 00:09:46:00 - 00:09:59:00 Unknown I would tell a prospective student thinking about going to CSUSB, I would say, come on, come on it. I would tell a prospective student thinking about going to CSU. SB is to come on down. 00:09:59:02 - 00:10:30:01 Unknown I mean, it's a beautiful university. What I love about CSUSB is it puts so much money, so much time into its facilities. It really cares about its alumni. It's here for you. There's so many great facilities here. And I personally got so much from the communications department, especially the mass communications department. And I just really, really think it would be a great place for a young person to come and come on down. 00:10:30:03 - 00:10:32:21 Unknown I would tell a prospective student about CSUSB 00:10:32:21 - 00:10:50:13 Unknown is to come on board. I really strongly think my daughter, actually faith is scheduled to possibly come to Cal State. So I'm actually trying to get her to come over here, because that's how much I believe in it is. I would love for my own kids to come here. I was supported here. I was inspired here. 00:10:50:15 - 00:11:15:03 Unknown I was motivated here. And I was cared for here. And I really, really enjoyed my time at CSUSB and I welcome everyone, because that's what I love about CSUSB it has its open arms and it truly welcomes all students, all people, and it has respect for all students and all people. And that's why I'm incredibly proud to be a coyote. 00:11:15:05 - 00:11:37:16 Unknown Currently, I have a streaming service called Melaninflixx, and we have some great original shows on there. And also I would love for you all to come out and support the IE Black Film Festival. And I just really want to thank CSUSB for believing in me and for supporting my vision and just continuing to stay with me throughout all of these years. 00:11:37:21 - 00:11:54:06 Unknown If I can just please thank one particular person, it would be Anthony Roberson, because he's always been one of my biggest supporters, and everybody at Cal State is just been great for me. So thank you, thank you, thank you. And I'm very proud to be a coyote. 00:11:54:08 - 00:11:59:01 Unknown My name is Jay Gerren I love CSUSB and I'm a coyote for life.