Introduction
Matthew A. Cherry (born 1981) is an American film director, writer, and producer. He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall (2012), and 9 Rides (2016), and is currently an executive at Monkeypaw Productions. He is best known for the animated short film, Hair Love, which was picked up by Sony Pictures Animation in March 2019 for distribution. The Kickstarter campaign for Hair Love raised over $200,000 and broke the record for the highest amount raised for any short film on the platform.
Early life and education
Cherry was born and raised in Chicago. He graduated from Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL.He attended the University of Akron, where he played on the football team and earned a bachelor's degree in media.
Career
Cherry was a football player in the NFL until he left in 2007 to pursue a film career. He was placed with several teams during his career, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens.
After initially working as a production assistant he began directing music videos. He directed the video for gospel song "Say Yes" by singer Michelle Williams.
Cherry wrote and directed his first film, The Last Fall, in 2012. The film stars Lance Gross and Nicole Beharie. The film, which premiered at SXSW, received average critical reviews. Peter Deburge of Variety described The Last Fall as a "tepid daytime-TV melodrama." Gary Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "this is an involving, sympathetic film unafraid to wear its sizable heart on its sleeve." It won Best Screenplay at the American Black Film Festival.
His second film, 9 Rides, was shot entirely on an iPhone 6s, which may be the first feature film shot using the device. Starring Dorian Missick, it premiered at SXSW in 2016. Tom Harrington ofThe Daily Dot called it "a taut, attractive piece of work." Shannon M. Houston reviewed the film for Paste and wrote, "9 Rides is proof that Cherry is a storyteller who can do quite a bit with a modest budget (this is the first film shot on an iPhone 6s) and a simple premise."
Hair Love
In 2017, Cherry created a Kickstarter campaign for a short animated film called Hair Love. The film is about an African American dad who is attempting to style his young daughter Zuri's hair for the first time. The campaign surpassed its initial goal of $75,000 and raised over $300,000. According to Kickstarter, that exceeds the amount raised by any other short film project on the platform.He co-directed the film with Everett Downing. On March 20, 2019, Sony Animation announced they had picked up Hair Love, which is slated to be released to audiences later in the year. The film was also adapted into a children's book by Dial Books, written by Cherry and illustrated by artist Vashti Harrison, which was released on May 14, 2019. The book was on the New York Times Book Review Children's Best Sellers list. The film was shown in theaters alongside The Angry Birds Movie 2 on August 14, 2019.