Matthew Materazzi

Matthew Materazzi was born in a city near Detroit, Michigan. Though his family was not poor, they could rarely afford the more extravagant toys, clothes, or anything else some of the richer kids in the neighborhood had. So it was that when his mom and dad rented a video camera one special weekend, Matthew was fascinated. The idea of being able to record moving images and sound to watch back later on a television was marvelous to the boy. When he was in his teen years, the family was able to finally purchase a modern camcorder and from that point on, Matthew never put it down. Home movies, music videos, experimental stop animation - these were daily activities for him, and friends and family (whomever was willing, or not). It was around this time that his father exposed him to the classics. Matthew recalls watching Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' for the first time: "I just remember being blown away. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It made me look at movies in an entirely new way. Films had the ability to have power and depth. They were no longer just entertainment....they were an art form." This awakening was one of the most important and influential changes to occur in him. The theme for 'film as art' would resonate throughout his entire life. As he left home for Army service, the passion for film/video was ever growing inside. He convinced the commanding officer of his battalion to allow him to 'skip out' on a tour of duty with a rifle, and replace it with a camera. With great success, Matthew created a documentary film for his unit that is still used to recruit soldiers today. Upon leaving the military life, Matthew was looking for his place in the world. Earning an AA in Computer & Electronics Technology at ITT Technical Institute, training in the Martial Arts, and working in the mail room of a fund raising company never satisfied him. Always viewing his environments through the eye of a camera lens, Matthew's passion for film-making steadily increased. He created videos for his Aikido class, for his job at Associated Community Services - even launching an entire video department there. Upon seeing one of his videos for the company Christmas party, a co-worker asked him to shoot her wedding. This was the creation of "m.a.t.e. Productions", a company that he and his brother Nathan operated. "m.a.t.e." specialized in wedding films. For a while, this satisfied Matthew's creative energy. He could 'direct' weddings, putting his own unique spin on each one. Every couple had a different film, and there were never two alike. But, this too began to lose its hold on him. In Matthew's words, "There is only so much you can do with a wedding video. There are no actors and there is only one script." After shooting some local independent shorts including "A Little Knowledge" which won Best Picture for Michigan in the International 48 Hour Film Challenge, Matthew decided to plunge into the major motion picture industry, where he always wanted to be. "Silent Choices" is the sublime result of Matthew's life-long affair with film as art.