Jay Anthony White grew up on Detroit’s Westside in a modest two-family flat on West Grand Boulevard next door to the famous Motown recording studio, Hitsville U.S.A. His grandmother, Ernestine White, was a well-known businesswoman and owner of White’s Record Shop, the biggest, most successful black-owned record shop in the city. He eventually assumed ownership of the store. White started his writing career in the winter of 2002 when he began writing his own stand-up comedy routines and spent two years opening shows for acts like Mike Bonner, Sheryl Underwood, Tony Roberts, and many others. In 2006, he wrote and produced his first full feature film, Project 313. Project 313 was featured at the Pan African Film Festival and was distributed nationally through Universal Studios Home Entertainment. In Fall 2007, White traveled to Los Angeles for the American Black Film Festival and after numerous meetings with actor/director Bill Duke – as well as producers and representation – he moved to L.A. After a short time and considerable interest in a handful of his projects, White’s screenplay Pawn was optioned and produced, garnering critical acclaim. Pawn starred Forest Whitaker, Ray Liotta, Michael Chiklis, Common, Sean Faris, Nikki Reed, and Stephen Lang, and was directed by David Armstrong, DP of the Saw films 1-5. In 2023 Jay took the helm as director, embarking on a cinematic journey to reimage his inaugural production, Project 313. Stepping into the director’s spotlight, Jay brings a new fresh perspective and creative vision to breathe new life into the story that marked the beginning of his filmmaking career. The blend of experience and artistic evolution, this project reflects Jay’s commitment to storytelling and his rise as a director.