There is no other filmmaker working today that personifies being the "man in the arena", as Theodore Roosevelt so eloquently put it, than Matthew Heineman. His films have ranged from the frontlines of wars to the sweet and touching portrayal of Jon Batiste in AMERICAN SYMPHONY (2023). Just making one such film could be a career pinnacle -- Matthew has directed 14 wholly original, extraordinary special artistic contributions to the medium -- and he's here to share the details.

In this episode, we discuss:

• you don't just walk onto the stage of Radio City Music Hall, in a special operations team room, or in a emergency room during COVID -- these are remarkably unique places. How did he manage that?
• how he is comfortable in such a wide array of different topics;
• whether he would recommend his path (he says it's important to have a "curiosity about the world");
• how his first film, OUR TIME (2009) was in a way his film school;
• how he sees the difference between journalism and documentary;
• his process regarding trust between filmmaker and subject ("trust is everything"), and he talks about how he earned the trust for the closeups in AMERICAN SYMPHONY;
• the story behind the creation of AMERICAN SYMPHONY;
• his reaction to the whiplash of the media regarding its chances at the Oscars and how he views awards as a filmmaker; Matt talks movingly about his relationship with awards as his career has evolved;
• "why do we make art and who do we make art for are questions that we constantly need to be asking";
• his relationship with the art of filmmaking, his friendship with Roger Deakins, and the importance of sound;
• what's next for one of the most talented filmmakers we have in both the narrative and documentary world and how he is able to toggle between both successfully.

Matt's Indie Film Highlight: MURDERBALL (2005) dir. by Dana Adam Shapiro; Henry-Alex Rubin; SHERMAN'S MARCH (1986) dir. by Ross McElwee

Links:

Our Time Projects

Follow Matthew on Instagram

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