Redlands High Alumni’s Film Nominated for Two NAACP Image Awards, Hometown Screening in Rialto

Dr. Daniel E. Walker celebrated his mentee Bomani J. Story’s directorial debut film, “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster,” Monday with a private hometown reception and screening at Cinemark Bistro Renaissance Marketplace and XD in Rialto, California.

Walker’s intention for the event was twofold: He wanted to recognize the Redlands native’s film, which is nominated for two 2024 NAACP Image Awards this year, Outstanding Independent Movie and Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture, and also foster intersectionality between the finance, entertainment, and education sectors.

Continuing his long-standing mission of connecting creativity and capital, Walker brought key members of the entertainment ecosystem to the Inland Empire to support the work of Story and to explore future investment and collaboration in the field of entertainment, media, and communications (EMC). Some of those in attendance were board trustees representing more than $80 Billion of investment capital, general partners of some of the leading entertainment-focused investment funds, major production companies, and accomplished actors, producers and a number of Dr. Walker’s mentees from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, UCLA Film School, AFI, and the USC Thornton School of Music.

Notable attendees included students from the Fontana Unified School District; Miss Black America Gabrielle Wilson; Paulette Brown-Hinds, PhD, James Irvine Foundation and the Inland Empire Community Foundation; William Huston, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Bay Street Capital Holdings; Alysia Bonner, Elected General Member of Fresno County Public Employees Pension Fund; Gustavo Herrera, Chief Executive Officer of Arts for LA; Pamela Thornton, President of League of Women Voters of Torrance Area; actor and producer Phillip Andre Botello; singer/songwriter Patrice ButtaPhly Stewart; Dina Walker, President of BLU Educational Foundation; Kiara Ginwright, CEO of Baby Blends; and Jonita Moore, Public Affairs and Community Engagement Representative of California School Boards Association.

When asked about this interesting mix of audiences, Walker replied, “People don’t understand that public pension funds like the California State Teachers Retirement System and the California Public Employees Retirement System have large holdings in the EMC space, owning significant shares of companies like Meta, Warner Bros. Discovery, and The Walt Disney Company. I’m just connecting the dots for people.”

Following the screening of the sci-fi horror film about a teen science buff Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes), who seeks to cure the disease of death by bringing her brother back to life, Walker facilitated a question and answer session with Story and attendees.

Story stressed the importance of resilience when asked to share advice to aspiring filmmakers.
“I’m 35. And I graduated in 2010,” said the USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni. And, you know, this is my directorial debut. So, it took me a little bit to get out there and fail, and I had to fail forward. And I had to not be afraid to fail. And I had to get myself back up and do it again. It feels like Insanity. But it’s what you have to do.”

Walker also shared advice to aspiring filmmakers and other creatives. “Do not get discouraged when other people tell you that your art does not matter,” he said. “Or people tell you that it is just some fun and games. This is real. People are changed by art. You can’t be more motivated to move by art. So you own that, and you hold that status because you are the key to the rest of the world for all of us.”

Story’s “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster” stars Hayes (“The Equalizer”), Denzel Whitaker (“The Great Debaters,” “Black Panther”) and Chad L. Coleman (“The Wire,” “The Walking Dead”). Inspired by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus,” the film has been reviewed in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal.