Matthew A. Cherry

Matthew A. Cherry (born December 14, 1981) is an American film director, writer, producer, and former American football player. He wrote and directed two independent films, The Last Fall, and 9 Rides (2016). He is best known for the 2019 Academy Award-winning animated short film, Hair Love. The Kickstarter campaign for Hair Love raised nearly $300,000 and broke the record for the highest amount raised for any short film on the platform. in 1999. He attended the University of Akron, where he played on the football team and earned a bachelor's degree in media.

Cherry played college football for four seasons with the Akron Zips under head coach Lee Owens and was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference wide receiver. He finished his career as the all-time leading receiver in school history and ended his senior season with records for total receptions, yards, touchdowns, punt return yards and punt return touchdowns.

Professional football career

Cherry signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent following the 2004 NFL draft. He was waived during final roster cuts on August 29, 2004, and re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 6. The Cincinnati Bengals signed him off of the Jaguars' practice squad to their active roster on December 29, 2004, before the final game of the season. He worked out for the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League on September 9, 2005, but left the team by September 21 without having played in a game. The Renegades franchise folded shortly after due to financial instability.

Cherry signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2006, and was allocated to the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe. He was waived by Hamburg during final roster cuts on March 5, 2006. He returned to the Panthers, but was waived on May 30, 2006. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens on August 3, 2006. He was placed on injured reserve on August 30, 2006, and missed the entire season.

Film career

Career beginnings Cherry retired from football in 2007 to pursue a film career. After initially working as a production assistant he began directing music videos. He directed the video for gospel song "Say Yes" by singer Michelle Williams. Gary Goldstein wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "this is an involving, sympathetic film unafraid to wear its sizable heart on its sleeve." It won Best Screenplay at the American Black Film Festival.

His second film, 9 Rides, was shot entirely on an iPhone 6s, which may be the first feature film shot using the device. Starring Dorian Missick, it premiered at SXSW in 2016. Tom Harrington of The Daily Dot called it "a taut, attractive piece of work."

Hair Love

In 2017, Cherry created a Kickstarter campaign for a short animated film called Hair Love. On March 20, 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that they had picked up Hair Love, which was released in theaters alongside The Angry Birds Movie 2 on August 14, 2019. The film won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short, with Cherry accepting the award alongside fellow producer Karen Rupert Toliver.

In 2020, Cherry became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Television In June 2020, Cherry signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Television.

On July 7, 2020, HBO Max, ordered a 12-episode season of Young Love, a 2D animated series from Cherry based on his short film Hair Love.

Upcoming projects In June 2020, Cherry was revealed to be working on The Come Up, a heist comedy movie for New Line Cinema. In October 2020, Cherry was revealed to be working on a project for Sony Pictures Animation, titled Tut. In March 2021, Cherry was set to direct the pilot episode of The Kings of Napa for OWN. In January 2022, Cherry was set to direct Redd Zone, a football drama movie with Jada Pinkett Smith starring for Netflix.

Filmography Film

Executive producer BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Production consultant Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Television Director YearTitleNotes2019 Whiskey Cavalier Episode "Spain, Trains and Automobiles" The Red Line Episode "We Need Glory for a While" Mixed-ish Episode "Bad Boys" 2019–2020 The Unicorn 2 episodes 2020 Black-ish 3 episodes 2020–2021 Saved by the Bell 2 episodes 2021 The Wonder Years Episode "Science Fair"2022 Kenan Episode "Ghosts of Boyfriends Past" The Kings of Napa 2 episodes Grand Crew Episode "Wine & Headlines" Bel-Air Episode "Can't Knock the Hustle" Abbott Elementary Episode "Ava vs. Superintendent" 2023 Ghosts 2 episodes 2023-2024 Young Sheldon 2 episodes 2023 Swagger 2 episodes

Co-producer The Last O.G. (2019) (Episode "Sound of Da Police")