'Looking Glass' starring JALLAL, a short film by Joslyn Rose Lyons A man finds himself in an unusual bar, one which is home to a portal to the past, and thus begins his own interaction with the idea of dreams. The events that follow take on a surreal tone and through an engagement with the concept of time, the past and the present, dreams and fears, there is also a sense of the distinction between being good at your craft and achieving genius stature, as well as your own self-inflicted doubts and inhibitions that keep you away from it. LOOKING GLASS embraces the struggle to overcome complacency, and embodies the spirit of Oakland’s creative community. Set in a 1930’s dream state, the film time travels through portals in a gorgeous cinematic series of visuals. “When Joslyn Rose brought the idea to me, I was honestly impressed. It meant so much since time means so much to me. Personally I am always reminded by this chapter from the Quran which states “ By time, Indeed man is in loss, Except those have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience (Chapter 103).” It holds so much power for me when it comes to time and the oxymoron of being patient. So her vision went hand in hand with how the essence of time is just so impactful to me my music and art.” — JALLAL ‘Looking Glass’ a short film by Joslyn Rose Lyons, starring Los Angeles based artist JALLAL, embraces the struggle to overcome complacency, and embodies the spirit of Oakland’s creative community. “I met Jallal while attending an art opening at the MOMA, while hanging with Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) we all connected on art, music, and the spiritual journey, the seeds were planted for us to create something together. When we got a chance to film Looking Glass at Bardo, a 1930’s inspired supper club in Oakland, and we invited many Oakland based artists and friends to appear in the short film. It’s a cinematic journey through a portal to the past. At the time of conceptualizing this piece, I had just finished reading a book called ‘The Big Leap’ which explores the concept of taking that courageous leap from your ‘excellence zone’ to your ‘genius zone’ something that JALLAL naturally exudes as an artist.” — Joslyn Rose Lyons, Director/Producer “The diverse cast and crew that came together to make this Oakland based short film, shows how one project can lead a community to come together. It was a blessing and miracle to see the hopeful energy that made this unique short film come to life.” — Boson Wang, Cinematographer