ABOUT JEREMIAH
"JAY" CHAPARRO

At 21, Jeremiah Chaparro — called “Jay” by his friends and close colleagues — is an aspiring African-American and Puerto Rican film director. Jeremiah works to build on his 2,500 hours of production work at Brooklyn’s Christian Cultural Center and use his passion for humanitarian aid and social service to tell stories about perseverance through both personal and economic struggles. As a documentarian on humanitarian aid trips, Jay captured the stories of Rohingya refugees and people affected by natural disasters in Texas and New Orleans. Jay is driven to use film and video as a means of helping people and giving voice to those who need to be heard, here and abroad.
 
Jeremiah wants to use his passion for helping others, his aptitude for leadership and teamwork, and his ability to tell stories that tackle both mental health issues and the challenges faced by the less fortunate.  His film “Harmony” – winner of the Best Fiction Film, Best Editing, and Best Screenplay awards at The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) 2022 Student Film Festival, winner of Best Student Film at the International Film Festival Manhattan, and an official selection to the 4th Meihodo International Youth visual media Festival – handles the topics of loneliness and isolation, which Jeremiah looks to explore more in future films and documentaries, along with the themes of anxiety, natural disasters, and perseverance.
 
Jeremiah’s love for storytelling grew through reading literature; short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein,” Yevgeny Zamyatin’s “We,” Arthur Koestler’s “Darkness At Noon,” which led him to the world of filmmaking at 15, where he began making films, and writing and directing shorts with his family and friends. 
 
Fascinated with the world of comic book illustration, Jeremiah also taught himself from a young age how to draw with the help of books such as “How To Draw The Marvel Way” and “How To Draw Comics Like A Pro.” He has extensively drawn, creating over 3,000 illustrations, specializing in character design.  He keeps up to date with the world of comic books, currently enjoying “daredevil” written by chip zdarsky and “spawn” written by Todd MCFARLANE as his favorite series’. Jeremiah wants to utilize his skill with pencil drawing and experience reading comics to create preliminary concept art and storyboards for films or animation exploring the science fiction genre and themes of war, family, and hope.  Jeremiah would love to be the penciler for companion graphic novels for his films.
 
Interested in using law enforcement as a means to protect people and give back to his community, Jeremiah was part of the NYC FBI Explorers Post #2060 from 2018 to 2021.  Jay and his peers ages 16-21 learned techniques of law enforcement, such as interviewing, investigating crime scenes, and tactical engagement.  In 2021, he organized and led Post #2060’s weekly training as Chairman of the NY FBI Explorers Post #2060 Training Committee. Jeremiah personally managed a team of seven, innovating ways to get post members to train remotely, such as using Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint to help new Explorers practice in hostage negotiation scenarios.
 
Currently attending the University of Miami, Jay is part of the gender-inclusive professional fraternity Delta Kappa Alpha, which is dedicated to mastering the cinematic arts. so far, Jay has written and directed two class-based commercial projects and worked on over ten other student film sets where he took on a variety of positions including gaffer, 2nd camera assistant, and sound all in his first semester as a transfer and commuter student.
Jay volunteers as a camera operator for the award-winning UMTV sports news show SportsDesk, assisting with pre-recording segments as well as operating a camera for the live show. When not on camera, Jay shadows SportsDesk’s video editor and helps out with small edits for video packages and highlight reels for the show. 
 
At home, Jeremiah helps with his family’s grocery runs and assists his retired grandmother with learning technology and watching her favorite Telemundo shows.  He often discusses the music of heavy metal and alternative rock with his 15-year old brother Isaiah, an aspiring guitarist, and the two of them spend time dissecting lyrics and musical themes.  Jeremiah enjoys playing “Mortal Kombat 11” with his father to bond and hear the stories of his Puerto Rican family history – such as how his late paternal grandfather migrated from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn to run a bodega and give his children access to better education. whenever he can, Jay assists his mother with photography and graphic and web design for her entrepreneurial ventures, such as the jewelry boutique she used to run.
 
Continuing to make films in various genres, including narrative fiction and mockumentary-style films, Jay hopes one day to establish a studio where visual storytelling can be a vehicle for humanitarian aid and creating a community for filmmakers.  Jeremiah plans for his studio to provide immediate mental health resources to filmmakers and more job opportunities in the film and media industry for fresh minority college undergraduates and high school students seeking professional experience.  Using film as a means to help others, Jeremiah continues to carve his path as a humanitarian, leader, and artist.