Matt Finlin is a Canadian documentary filmmaker,Sean Sutherland, "Cambridge native brings his ode to small-town cinema to Waterloo". Cambridge Today, April 12, 2024. who is partners with Karen Barzilay in the Door Knocker Media film studio.Pete Hammond, "‘The Movie Man’, A Kind Of Canadian ‘Cinema Paradiso’ And Underdog New Documentary For Film Lovers, Tries To Find Its Way Into Fall Festivals – TIFF And Telluride, Are You Listening?". Deadline Hollywood, July 21, 2023. He is most noted for his 2024 film The Movie ManSarah Bea, "'The Movie Man' Celebrates the Cinematic Marvel of Ontario Cottage Country". Exclaim!, February 28, 2024. and his 2025 film Matter of Time.Daniel Kreps,"Eddie Vedder Raises Awareness for Rare Disease in New Docu Clip"
Early life and education Born and raised in Cambridge, Ontario, he earned an Honours degree in psychology from the University of Guelph, followed by a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ottawa. After graduating, he worked as an English as a Second Language teacher in Taiwan,Steve Burgess, "Cheap Smokes, But a Long Way from Home". Calgary Herald, March 16, 2007. where he directed The Glass Box, a short film exploring Taiwan's betel nut trade.Colin Hunter, "Nutty habit inspires tale of two women". Waterloo Region Record, October 7, 2008. He later moved to New York City, where he released Below New York (2011), a documentary capturing the lives and performances of the city's subway buskers, in 2011."Local filmmaker premieres documentary at prestigious North by Northeast filmfest". Waterloo Region Record, June 14, 2011.
Career Finlin founded Door Knocker Media in 2014 with producing partner Karen Barzilay. With the company, he worked as a director and producer of television specials and sponsored films for charitable organizations, including We Day specials,Brittany Carloni, "Bonita Springs family on ABC special, hosted by John Stamos, about people making a difference". Naples Daily News, August 14, 2018. and a posthumous tribute special to actor Leslie Jordan.Meaghan Darwish, "‘Reportin’ for Duty: A Tribute to Leslie Jordan’: Mayim Bialik, Jim Parsons & More Head Star-Studded Show". TV Insider, April 20, 2023.
The Movie Man, his feature documentary debut, premiered in February 2024 at the 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival,Kelly Townsend, "Send Kelp!, The Movie Man to world bow in Santa Barbara". Playback, January 18, 2024. and had its Canadian premiere at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. The film received a Vancouver Film Critics Circle award nomination for Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2024.Nicholas Sokic, "Ann Marie Fleming’s Can I Get A Witness? leads VFCC noms". Playback, January 23, 2025. Pete Hammond of Deadline dubbed the film "a Canadian Cinema Paradiso."
In 2025, Finlin released Matter of Time at the Tribeca Festival. The film profiles Eddie Vedder's series of fundraising concerts to raise money for research into a cure for epidermolysis bullosa.Sandra Gonzalez, "Eddie Vedder’s quest to help cure a rare disease subject of new documentary". CNN, April 17, 2025.
Matter of Time release and reception
Matter of Time had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June 2025, where it screened as part of the festival's documentary lineup.
Awards
The film received recognition on the international film festival circuit, including:
Best Feature Music Documentary – Nashville Film Festival (2025) Artistic Director's Award – San Diego International Film Festival (2025)
References
External links
Company website