PB Film

EDUCATION CORNER: BR SCHOLARSHIP WINNER @ CANNES

Matt Nadel is a 23-year-old documentary director/producer, and 2017 Burt Reynolds scholarship winner for the Student Showcase of Films. He calls the Student Showcase of Films “an incredible experience.” Matt, who was born and raised in Florida, was fascinated by film, at a very young age, and loves to see how the visual world tells a story. He graduated from Dreyfoos School of the Arts in downtown West Palm Beach. He was a student in their Communication Arts program.

Fast forward to the present, Matt has created a short documentary called CANS Can't Stand, which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival American Pavilion and won the Audience Award at Outfest. The story follows a group of Black trans women in New Orleans who are fighting to repeal a discriminatory Louisiana law called Crime Against Nature by Solicitation, or CANS. The film was co-directed by Matt, and Megan Plotka and co-produced by Wendi Cooper, a Black trans community leader in New Orleans, the main character. In addition to the Cannes American Pavilion and Outfest, the documentary has been an official selection at the Provincetown Film Festival, Frameline, Sidewalk, and CinemaQ Denver.

Currently Matt is working as an associate producer on a feature documentary for NBC News Studios/Focus Features, set to premiere in early 2023.