Born in Philadelphia, in 1998 and now based in Los Angeles, Lamar is a recent undergraduate film student at California College of the Arts. In his graduating year, he was a Production Coordinator at award-winning VFX production house NTROPIC. He soon after caught the attention of Founder/President Rhea Scott, of Little Minx, where he now works as her personal assistant.
With East Coast roots and cultivating West Coast stories, Lamar has pulled from inspiration from his mentor Cheryl Duyne, the work of Lee Daniels and Marlon Riggs. Sharing an array of Queer experiences, Lamar has dedicated his work thus far to understand the collective experience of Black people within the LGBTQIA+ community.
With his distinctive voice, his work extends from short films, commercials, and documentaries. In 2017, as high school student Lamar screened at the Black Star Film Festival with his provocative film, “Black Men Don’t Cry”, which went off to win an award at the PBS Youth Media Awards.
Lamar already has a new project in development, a reimagining of an iconic James Baldwin interview played by Netflix’s The Get Down star Tory Devon Smith. When he looks back someday on his career, Lamar hopes he will have helped create generational growth for the next young creatives to fearlessly tell their own stories.
Director Statement
Growing up in Philadelphia, my friends and I were not expected to attend college. We grew up in a city where we had to hustle in order to make ends meet. We were part of families that gave us everything they could and we had to pray for the rest. Despite the obstacles, some of us were privileged to graduate high school and go off to college.
Every year in higher education, tuition increases causing hundreds of thousands of students to struggle financially. Because of this, students across the country are turning to dangerous or underpaying jobs in hopes of securing a better future. This film is dedicated to this largely unseen struggle. It is at that length in which Malachi crosses in order to survive and keep his own education going.
The film may shock, perhaps even repulse some viewers, but I felt an obligation to tell the story as it happens. During the development of the film, I consulted with other college students and listened to their stories. Sometimes I shared my own. Their vulnerability and feedback helped preserve the film’s authenticity. It is my honor to share this story and raise awareness of the nightmare that often follows the American dream.
LGBTQ+ Toronto Film Festival 