Jeremy Lee MacKenzie is a screenwriter, film director, and wood- scroll artist who uses narrative storytelling to foster empathy, human connection, and understanding between people, while his films often focus on childhood, magical realism, and stories of overcoming life challenges.
MacKenzie earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at USC School of Cinematic Arts on a George Lucas Scholarship. He has a BFA in Creative Media from Champlain College. His films have screened at film festivals across the US and internationally including The American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival. His 2021 film “There’s a Prison on Fire in the Forest,” an animated film about a riot in a for-profit prison, won the jury award for American short films at Champs- Élysées Film Festival in Paris, France. Jeremy’s path into art began as a teenager, where he learned the intricate art of cutting wood scrollwork in a prison woodshop. His film career began while working as a prison movie projectionist where he projected movies onto a wall for inmates to watch.