BIOGRAPHY
Cinematographer. Observer. Storyteller.
Matt Porwoll is an Emmy® and Sundance award-winning cinematographer based in New York. His work has screened theatrically, appeared on TV networks such as HBO, Showtime, Amazon, Netflix, Apple+, Discovery, CNN, A&E, and PBS, and has screened at film festivals worldwide.
Porwoll shot the film TIGERLAND, directed by Academy Award®-winner Ross Kauffman, that premiered in competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and garnered a 2020 Cinema Eye Honors nomination for Best Broadcast Cinematography. Porwoll also served as the cinematographer on CNN's 4-part series LBJ: TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY and Showtime’s THE TRADE: SEASON 1, a 5-part documentary series about the opioid epidemic. The feature documentary CARTEL LAND, which Matt shot and co-produced, won Best Cinematography Awards at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, 2016 Cinema Eye Honors and 2016 Primetime Emmys. The film was also nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature.
Porwoll has served as an additional cinematographer on numerous other films including THE FIRST WAVE, CITY OF GHOSTS and ESCAPE FIRE: THE FIGHT TO RESCUE AMERICAN HEALTHCARE, directed by Academy Award®-nominated director Matthew Heineman, THE ME YOU CAN'T SEE, executive-produced by Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, HBO’s Emmy®-nominated BY THE PEOPLE: THE ELECTION OF BARACK OBAMA, and HBO’s CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1, which won the 2015 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short.
In addition to working as a cinematographer, Matt enjoys sharing the technical side of the craft as well. Whether its covering topics such as cameras, lenses and lighting on his blog or collaborating with manufacturers about working with their equipment, teaching and sharing his experiences has been a rewarding complement to his work.

AWARDS
SUNDANCE
FILM FESTIVAL
2015
PRIMETIME EMMY
2016
CINEMA
EYE
HONORS
2016
Cinema Eye Honors 2020
NOMINATED
Best Broadcast Cinematography
for TIGERLAND
Primetime Emmy Awards 2016
WINNER
Outstanding Cinematography for a Non-Fiction Program
for CARTEL LAND
Cinema Eye Honors 2016
WINNER
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography
for CARTEL LAND
Sundance Film Festival 2015
WINNER
Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography - US Documentary
for CARTEL LAND