GENERATION IMPACT: THE CODER Available to Stream Next Week

GENERATION IMPACT, a new short-film series from the Garage by HP, spotlights young entrepreneurs using technology to break barriers and positively impact their communities. Motivated by the problems and issues they see in the world, these inspiring minds mesh together a love of science and technology with a dedication to helping others.

The first film in the series, GENERATION IMPACT: THE CODER, follows Jay Jay Patton (age 16) and her father Antoine, who together founded Unlock Academy, an in-person and online coding school that mentors young people interested in STEM careers. Jay Jay's goal is to personally bring 10,000 women of color into the technology field.

Prior to starting Unlock Academy, at age 13 Jay Jay designed and built Photo Patch, a mobile app that helps children send photos and letters to incarcerated parents for free, inspired by her own family's experience. To date, the app has been used to send over 600,000 letters and photos to loved ones, at no cost.

The film is directed by documentary filmmaker Samantha Knowles, whose credits include Tangled Roots,The Blue Line, and the award-winning short documentary Why Do You Have Black Dolls?. The film was Executive Produced by Emmy-winner and Oscar nominee Steven Cantor and Stick Figure Productions.

This series underscores HP's commitment to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025. HP is partnering with Unlock Academy to provide digital learning to participants in BeChangeMaker, a social entrepreneurship challenge of the HP Foundation and WorldSkills.

Funded by The Garage by HP and produced by Stick Figure Productions, the first film in the series, GENERATION IMPACT: THE CODER, will be released on June 15, 2021 on HP.com's digital hub, the Garage (hp.com/generation-impact) and YouTube.