{{short description|American independent filmmaker (born 1977)}} {{Infobox person | name = Matt Porterfield | image = Matt Porterfield - Maryland Film Festival - 2016 (30354425543) (cropped).jpg | caption = Porterfield in 2016 | birth_name = Matthew Porterfield | birth_date = {{bda|1977|10|6}} | birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | occupation = Film director, screenwriter, producer, lecturer | years_active = 2006–present | website = https://www.mattporterfield.com/ }}

'''Matthew "Matt" Porterfield''' (born October 6, 1977<ref name=Mubi>{{cite web|title=Matthew Porterfield|url=http://mubi.com/cast_members/85392|publisher=MUBI|accessdate=24 May 2013}}</ref>) is an American independent filmmaker. He has made four feature films to date, ''Hamilton'' (2006), ''Putty Hill'' (2011), ''I Used to Be Darker'' (2013) and ''Sollers Point'' (2017). ''Putty Hill'' and ''I Used to Be Darker'' had their international premieres at the Berlin International Film Festival. All of his features have had their local premieres at the Maryland Film Festival.

==Life and career== Porterfield was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and studied at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. He previously taught screenwriting and production in the Film and Media Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University.<ref name=Mubi />

His low-budget debut feature, ''Hamilton'', made on 16&nbsp;mm film with a cast of non-professional actors from Baltimore, proved a "minor miracle", wrote Richard Brody in ''The New Yorker.'' The magazine went on to tag the film as "the most original, moving and an accomplished American independent film in recent years".<ref name=NY>{{cite web |last=Brody |first=Richard |date=December 5, 2013 |website=The New Yorker |title=Hamilton |url=http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/hamilton_porterfield |accessdate=24 May 2013}}</ref>

Porterfield's ''Putty Hill'' again revolves around a small working class community in Baltimore city, combining documentary and narrative traditions. It was featured in the 2013 Whitney Biennial.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew Porterfield in the 2012 Whitney Biennial! – BmoreArt |url=https://bmoreart.com/2011/12/matthew-porterfield-is-on-list-for-2012.html |access-date=2024-02-18 |language=en-US}}</ref>

His 2013 feature, ''I Used to Be Darker'', was co-written by Amy Belk and starred musicians Ned Oldham and Kim Taylor alongside newcomers Hannah Gross and Deragh Campbell. It premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival<ref name=Indiewire>{{cite web|title=Sundance Review: Moving Beyond 'Putty Hill,' Matthew Porterfield Turns to Music With Melancholic Drama 'I Used to Be Darker'|url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-moving-beyond-putty-hill-matthew-porterfield-turns-to-music-with-melancholic-drama-i-used-to-be-darker|publisher=Indiewire|accessdate=24 May 2013}}</ref> and was released commercially in the United States, France, Germany, Austria, and South Korea.

Porterfield made his first narrative short, ''Take What You Can Carry'', in Berlin in the summer of 2014. It premiered in the Berlinale Shorts Competition in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grant |first=Andrew |date=2015-02-25 |title=Take What You Can Carry Director Matthew Porterfield, Producer Zsuzsanna Kiràly and d.p. Jenny Lou Ziegel on Collaborating Outside the System in Germany - Filmmaker Magazine |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/93253-take-what-you-can-carry-director-matthew-porterfield-producer-zsuzsanna-kiraly-and-d-p-jenny-lou-ziegel-on-collaborating-outside-the-system-in-germany/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. |language=en-US}}</ref> His next feature film, ''Sollers Point'', premiered at San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Linden |first=Sheri |date=2017-09-27 |title=‘Sollers Point’: Film Review {{!}} San Sebastian 2017 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sollers-point-1041693/ |access-date=2024-02-18 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2019, Porterfield was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Matthew Porterfield – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation… |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/matthew-porterfield/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=www.gf.org}}</ref>

== Filmography == * 2006: ''Hamilton'' * 2010: ''Putty Hill'' * 2013: ''I Used to Be Darker'' * 2015: ''Take What You Can Carry'' (short) * 2017: ''Sollers Point'' * 2021: ''Cuatro paredes'' (short) * 2023: ''Extinction of the Species'' (short, co-directed with Nicolasa Ruiz) * 2026: ''Ponderosa'' * TBA: ''Solo Tengo Sed''<ref>{{Cite web |title=DOS PRODUCTORAS TIJUANENSES PARTICIPAN EN EL FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINE DE RÓTERDAM – Baja Film Commission |url=https://bajafilmcommission.com/en/dos-productoras-tijuanenses-participan-en-el-festival-internacional-de-cine-de-roterdam/ |access-date=2025-04-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == * {{IMDb name|2275041}} *[https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-porterfield-594bb110/ Matt Porterfield] on LinkedIn

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Porterfield, matthew}} Category:Filmmakers from Maryland Category:Artists from Baltimore Category:1977 births Category:Living people Category:Park School of Baltimore alumni