Matthew Puccini
Matthew Puccini (born c. 1993) is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. He is known for his short films that deal with LGBT-related subject matters.[1] These include The Mess He Made (2017) Marquise (2018), Dirty (2020) and Lavender (2019), the last of which was acquired by Searchlight Pictures (formerly Fox Searchlight Pictures) for an Academy Award-qualifying theatrical run following its Sundance premiere. His work has played at several festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs ShortsFest, and Outfest Los Angeles.[2][3][4][3][5][6]
Matthew Puccini | |
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Puccini in 2019 | |
Born | 1992/1993 (age 27–28) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | New York University (BFA) |
Occupation | Director, Producer, Writer, Editor |
Years active | 2010–present |
Home town | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
Website | http://www.matthewpuccini.com |
Life and career
Puccini graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 2015 and went to work for “an extremely demanding producer,” in order to make The Mess He Made.[7] The film premiered at SXSW, where it became a finalist for the Iris Prize. This gave Puccini enough leverage to create a Kickstarter campaign in order to fund Lavender, which he then produced a couple of years later, starring Michael Hsu Rosen, Ken Barnett and Michael Urie. The film was nominated for both Sundance's Short Film Grand Jury Prize and Vimeo’s Best Drama of 2019, and won the Here Media Award for Best Queer Short Film at the Provincetown International Film Festival.[8]
His most recent film, Dirty, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Jury Award for Best Short Film, and then screened virtually at SXSW, in which the physical screening was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9][10] However, the film still got nominated there for the Grand Jury Award for Narrative Short and received a Special Jury Award for the performances of the film's two stars, Manny Dunn and Morgan Sullivan.[11][12] It then went on to play at BFI Flare, Outfest Fusion, Atlanta Film Festival and the Palm Springs ShortsFest.[13][14]
Puccini, as of now, still resides in Brooklyn, and is currently in development on his first feature film and in post-production on the short documentary, Queer/Elder, which will be released in 2021.[15]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | A Fiberglass Affair | Editor | Narrative short |
2014 | Do Us Part | Editor | Narrative short |
2014 | Anchovies | Editor | Narrative short |
2015 | Backyard Portal | Editor | Narrative short |
2015 | Solo | Director, writer | Narrative short |
2016 | Where People Hide Away | Editor | Narrative short |
2016 | Burning Child | Editor | Narrative short |
2017 | The Mess He Made | Director, writer | Narrative short |
2017 | Stumped | Director, writer, editor | Narrative short |
2018 | Marquise | Director, writer, editor | Narrative short |
2019 | Lavender | Director, writer | Narrative short |
2020 | Dirty | Director, producer, writer | Narrative short |
2021 | Queer/Elder | Director | Documentary short |
References
- "Matthew Puccini". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- About — Matthew Puccini
- Alumni Spotlight - Matthew Puccini — NFFTY
- Matthew Puccini
- Sundance: Fox Searchlight Buys ‘Lavender’ With Michael Urie – Variety
- "Michael Urie Heads Gay Throuple in Evocative Fox Searchlight Short 'Lavender' — Watch". IndieWire. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "Watch This Short Film on the Terror of HIV Tests, 'The Mess He Made'". www.advocate.com. 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- Torch Song’s Michael Urie and Michael Hsu Rosen Reunite in Short Film Lavender at Sundance | Playbill
- "2020 Sundance Preview: 10 Must-See Short Films in Park City". IndieWire. 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "SXSW Film Festival Shorts To Stream On Mailchimp Presents". Deadline. 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "The 2020 SXSW Film Festival Announces Jury and Special Awards". SXSW. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "SXSW 2020: Best Short Films Streaming Online". The Young Folks. 2020-05-09. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
- "Palm Springs ShortFest Selects 2020 Films". Palm Springs Life. 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- "Take a look: ShortFest announces lineup of 332 short films". Palm Springs Desert Sun. 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
- About — Matthew Puccini