Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jalen Christopher . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jalen , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I give the glory of my resilience to God and my family. Although my life might have not been the easiest or the absolute hardest, when it comes to how the cards were dealt in my life. You sometimes have no choice but to grow and learn within the test and trials God can put you through. It helps build me a thick skin and sound mind. They help me remember that I’m built for this, whatever it may be. I was always told this, “when things are good stay humble and grateful, and when they are bad stay prayed up and strong”. I was blessed with a family/support system that helped me see the lessons through adversity. Also with my Uncle being a pastor I was always told that God doesn’t place anything upon you that you can’t handle. With a pastor in your ear, and a dedicated black single mom that simply just wanted you to be better than her at my helm, nothing can keep me down for too long.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Jalen Christopher. I’m a 24 year old, African American filmmaker. Born in Los Angeles California, and partially raised in Dallas Texas, I’m a city boy with some southern hospitality. More importantly I’m a storyteller and director who strongly believes that there’s more to African American stories than trauma. I found my passion for film in college after realizing that graphic design just wasn’t scratching that creative itch I yearned for. Also growing up as they say a “T.V kid”, I’ve always been in love with cinema and television. After graduating from Grand Canyon University, majoring in digital film and production. I jump started my young career by creating my own production company, Witness the Dream. WTD has been involved in producing several short films which have been selected and nominated for numerous film festivals, music videos, brand campaigns, and small business commercials. Not only an aspiring director I am also a writer, who specializes in comedy and drama genres. I want to make stories that not only expand the creative universe for black people, but continue to share light on history, and the potential future – good or bad. I’m a visionary with a mission to simply provide an escape from a viewer’s reality, and bridge the community through creative visuals and stories.
Currently I’m in the pre production phase of my latest short film entitled “EDY”. A tragic comedy about the almost identical/parallel lives of bank tellers, Eddy Johnson, and Eddie Johnson, and how they are interwoven together as they must survive a bad day at work, heartbreak and in the end, themselves. Also in the works is a docuseries about the LA renowned Tommy the Clown- coming soon.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three I would say that were the most impactful on my journey are the skills of networking, the qualities of patience, and a management of one’s pride. The advice I would give to anyone is get out there and strut your stuff, meet these people in your industry and make bonds/connections that last- mixers, screenings, events, anything you think you can make a connection with, and don’t be afraid to go alone. That will be even more enticing for you to make a connection while you’re there. Lastly, be proud of what you make because who else is gonna show love for you more than you. Being patient is an obvious trait to have, life is a marathon not a race, and so is this career.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
The number one obstacle I’m facing is the lack of funding for my creative projects. The more I create the more ambitious, and expensive things become which is fine because that’s simply growth. Ways’ I’m trying to overcome this challenge are becoming well versed in crowdfunding and people. Whether that be crowdfunding websites like seed and spark, Indiegogo etc. Or creating fundraising social events like movie nights, car wash events or investor dinners. Finding people that believe in my vision just as much as I do and networking to get the vision out there is my way of trying to overcome this challenge. This magazine is one of those outlets as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://witness-the-dream-prod.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jaydirects?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/jalen-c-2b0123114
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk6SNIdsjPCUD2hnLI_Lk-g
Image Credits
Caleb Shaw – @cmackk_ Justin Makalii – @i.am.voidwalker Jataun Gilbert – @juicemanjaja Daniel Antonio – @danielsun.media
