photo credit: Jared Gastreich
Matt Amato is a director and co-founder of Los Angeles based visual arts collective,THE MASSES. He created music videos for a wide range of artists including: 60 Watt Kid, American Music Club, Beach House, Bon Iver, Bowerbirds, Bright Eyes, Broken Bells, Betty Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Madi Diaz, Dido, The Dodos, Earlimart, Edward Sharpe + the Magnetic Zeros, Everclear, Explosions In The Sky, Daughn Gibson, Jack Grelle, Ima Robot, Imperial Teen, Le Corps Mince de Françoise, Liquorice, Ann Magnuson, Matthewdavid, Mia Doi Todd, Carlos Niño, Nortec Collective, Quadron, Red House Painters, Shakey Graves, Sister Crayon, Soko, Barbra Streisand, Sweatson Klank, Serge Tankian, Tarnation, Tipsy, Trixie Mattel, Joel Virgel, Wild Nothing, Willie Neslon and Withered Hand. He has worked for such labels as 4AD, Asphodel, Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Dead Oceans, Epic, Geffen Records, Jagjaguwar, Leaving Records, London Records, Ninja Tune, Palm Pictures, PEG Records, Plug Research, Reprise, Rough Trade, Saddle Creek, Secretly Canadian, Sony Music, Sub Pop, Virgin Records and Warner Bros. Records. A frequent visual collaborator with dublab in Los Angeles, Matt also created videos for Cluster, Lucky Dragons, The Long Lost and Pharaohs. In 2009, Italy's Rome Film Festival celebrated Matt's work with THE MASSES. Matt's work with Beach House turned into an art show entitled Real Love sponsored by Blythe Projects and MOCA in Los Angeles. His work in Japan with the Harinezumi camera has been featured in exhibits at the New Museum in NYC, Tokyo, Singapore and Paris. In 2015 The Luminary Arts presented an exhibition of his works titled, Sound + Image. In 2016, the Museum of Modern Art presented two short movies he made in collaboration with legendary performance artist Ann Magnuson, In Search Of My Blonde Roots + Time Traveling Hooker. Matt came on board as creative consultant and executive producer of the documentary, I AM HEATH LEDGER which had its premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Matt returned to his hometown of St. Louis to write and direct his first feature, NEVER MY LOVE, starring Sheryl Lee, Grace Zabriskie and Jay R. Ferguson. Matt continues to document the efforts of historic preservationist Larry Giles at the National Building Arts Center. This summer, Columbia Records released Matt’s latest collaboration with Barbra Streisand to announce her new record arriving Aug.6.
"This beautifully acted and photographed drama leaves a lasting impression. Amato, a veteran helmer of music videos, invests the proceedings with a subtle, dreamlike quality that gives the film an undeniable, but never stultifying, artsy feel. If you’re not already in love when you see the film, you’ll desperately want to be afterwards.”
The Hollywood Reporter