FEATURED WORK

CANS Can’t Stand
Director/Producer

The Stage Is Ours
Director/Editor

ABOUT

I’m a documentary filmmaker and journalist based in New York. I’m drawn to stories about the criminal-legal system, gender and sexuality, and history. My films have been distributed by outlets like the New York Times, The New Yorker, and PBS.

My most recent film, CANS Can’t Stand (The New Yorker 2023), follows a group of Black trans women fighting to repeal Louisiana’s controversial Crime Against Nature by Solicitation (CANS) law. Nominated for a 2024 GLAAD Media Award, CANS Can’t Stand premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Emerging Filmmaker Showcase and screened at film festivals like Outfest (Audience Award), NewFest (Audience Award), Provincetown (Special Jury Prize), Hot Springs, and the New Orleans Film Festival.

My forthcoming documentary Cashing Out tells the story of a ghoulish industry that emerged at the height of the AIDS epidemic—and my own unlikely connection to it.

I’m currently a fellow at the Yale Investigative Reporting Lab. I’m also the co-founder of the Advocacy Video Project, an initiative that uses short documentaries to help New Yorkers win fairer criminal-legal outcomes.

I was born and raised in Florida and graduated from Yale with a BA in American Studies.

CONTACT

mattsnadel@gmail.com