The Independent Film Alliance Chicago (IFA) is starting the year off by holding an intimate, in-person conversation and Q&A with Oscar-winning filmmaker, Chicago native Matthew A. Cherry.
In Focus With is an in-person event open to the public. Appetizers and beverages will be served.
Event Details
Date & Time: Wednesday, January 11 | 6-8PM
Location: THE HUB AT IFA | 2602 W 16th Street, Chicago, IL 60608
Parking: Cinespace Studios
Matthew A. Cherry is an Academy Award winning writer, director and a former NFL wide receiver who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and the Baltimore Ravens.
In 2007, Cherry retired and moved to LA to pursue a career in entertainment landing work initially as a production assistant for commercials and music videos before transitioning to being a Set PA for the final season of the hit CW TV series Girlfriends and the third season of Heroes for NBC.
In television, Matthew has also directed multiple episodes of television, including ABC’s Abbott Elementary, Black-ish, and The Wonder Years, Peacock TV’s Bel-Air, Saved By The Bell , Apple’s Swagger and more.
Cherry also served as an executive producer on the Academy Award-nominated film BlackKklansman from Spike Lee while working as a creative executive at Jordan Peele’s production company, MonkeyPaw Productions.
Cherry’s Hair Love is an animated short film about an African American father attempting to do his daughters hair for the first time. The short, which made its theatrical debut in August 2019 with Sony Pictures Animation’s The Angry Birds Movie 2, won the Academy Award in 2020 for Best Animated Short Film and has an accompanying picture book which is a six time New York Times Bestseller.
Most recently, Cherry released the Hair Love spin off animated television series Young Love starring Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi, Issa Rae, Loretta Devine, Harry Lennox, Tamar Braxton, Sheryl Lee Ralph and more Young Love is currently streaming on Max.
Independent Film Alliance Chicago (IFA) is a non-profit organization that provides the community and resources needed to build a diverse and sustainable industry of independent content creators.
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