Biography

Matthew Heineman (born November 30, 1983; Washington) is an American documentary filmmaker, director, and producer. His inspiration and fascination with American history led him to early success with the documentary film Cartel Land, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film, a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2009, Heineman founded his New York–based production company Our Time Projects, Inc., which would later release Our Time, his first documentary film about what it's like to be young in America, which he shot in the lower 48 states while traveling in an RV with three of his friends after graduating from college. His 2021 film The First Wave received the Pare Lorentz Award from the International Documentary Association, was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. The 2022 film Retrograde was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing at the Producers Guild of America Awards and won Outstanding Editing at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.