Plainfield native Lamar Mackson has had a long history in the film and entertainment industry, but recently his short film “White Pickett Fence” has landed him in the international spotlight with its selection to the Toronto Black Film Festival.
The film has already won Honorable Mention for Best Narrative Short, and Honorable Mention for Best Actress (Jennifer Fouche), as part of the 2018 IMDB Independent Shorts Awards.
“What an honor to be able to screen this film in Canada,” Mackson said. “It’s such a blessing since I’ve always wanted to go to Toronto- and what a better way (to go) than through one of our films.”
The film, written and directed by Jackie Howell King, and produced by Mackson’s Nonstop Show Group, is a masterful work that unpacks the secrets woven into the life of Miriam Pickett after tragedy seems to befall her family. “White Pickett Fence” is a cinematic journey through betrayal and revenge that begs the question- how far will one go to preserve the perception of perfection?
Mackson, who has deep roots in Union County and his hometown of Plainfield, has over twenty years of experience in video and film production.
His filmography and credits include: the Cooking Channel’s “Patti’s Place” with Patti Labelle, Multimedia Entertainment’s “News Talk Television,” “Damages" starring Glen Close, “Kitchen Nightmares” featuring Gordon Ramsay, “Extreme Home Makeovers,” Viacom’s “The Montel Williams Show,” "The Phil Donahue Show,” as well as Spike Lee's, “Summer of Sam.”
In addition, Mackson also served as Assistant Director on the popular hidden camera show Impractical Jokers on TruTV.
From 2014 to present, his company Nonstop Show Group has produced and released 6 award-winning short films including the award-winning short film “Moves We Make,” and most recently, “Heroin(e)” which garnered BEST NJ FILM at the 2018 Westfield Film Festival. His films have been selected to the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (2008, 2016-2018), the 2016 Hudson Valley International Film Festival, and the 2016 Oktober Film Festival, Newark International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival, Denton Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival and many more. Most recently Mackson produced a segment for Sesame Street entitled “T is for Train.
The Toronto Black Film Festival runs from February 13 to February 18, 2019. The Festival is dedicated to giving unique voices in cinema the opportunity to present audiences with new ways of looking at the world. Their ambition is to encourage the development of the independent film industry and to promote more films on the reality of Black people from around the Globe.
**PHOTO CAPTION:** Plainfield native and head of film production house Nonstop Show Group on the set of their latest endeavor “White Pickett Fence.”