AARON MATTHEWS IS AN AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER whose work has SCREENED AT over 50 FILM FESTIVALS around the world. HE IS THE PRODUCER AND EDITOR OF THE OSCAR-WINNING DOCUMENTARY COLETTE. Matthews’s films are featured on a variety of outlets including HBO, PBS, NETflix, Disney+, National Geographic, CNN, and Discovery, among others.
Matthews has been a Sundance Fellow and has received grants from The Sundance Institute, The Independent Television Service (ITVS), The Jerome Foundation, The New York State Council on the Arts, The Latino Public Broadcasting Company, and The Brooklyn Arts Council.
His most recent documentary, THE WAR AND PEACE OF TIM O’BRIEN follows renowned author and Vietnam veteran Tim O’Brien, wrestling with the nation’s wars as he battles to finish one last book. Esquire magazine praised the “thoughtful and intimate film,” calling Matthews a “disciplined storyteller, uninterested in self-indulgence,” and Town and Country called the film an “honest and raw portrayal.” The film was featured on CNN’s Amanpour, NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and The CBS This Morning podcast.
His documentary, THE PAPER, goes behind the scenes at a university newspaper embroiled in controversy, following America’s future journalists as they confront the pressures and problems of working in media today. This “fascinating” film “provides insight into the problems facing all news organizations,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, and was a New York Times Pick of the Week. It received a Cine Golden Eagle Award, and was broadcast nationwide on PBS’s Independent Lens Series.
In A PANTHER IN AFRICA, Matthews explores the legacy of the 1960s through the eyes of former Black Panther and American exile, Pete O’Neal. The film, hailed by critics as “elegant,” “unique,” and “intimate,” screened at over 35 film festivals worldwide and was nationally broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V. series. It received a Cine Golden Eagle Award, won Best Documentary at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and is now showing nationwide on PBS’s Global Voices series.
Matthews made his feature documentary debut with MY AMERICAN GIRLS, which captures the joys and struggles of one Dominican family’s immigrant experiences in Brooklyn. The film, “packed with uncommon honesty and humor,” according to the Los Angeles Times, was also nationally broadcast on P.O.V. and was selected for encore P.O.V. broadcasts. It won Best Documentary at the San Francisco International Latino Film Festival, aired throughout Europe and Latin America, screened on the DiscoveryTimes Channel, and PBS’s True Lives series.
In addition to his film work, Matthews is the founder of Look Alive Films, which produces television documentaries, and commercial and short form pieces for clients including Discovery, History, PBS, Disney, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros., and various non-profit organizations.
Matthews grew up and lives in Brooklyn. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in English literature.