Matthew A. Cherry facts for kids

Matthew A. Cherry (born December 14, 1981) is an American film director, writer, and producer. He used to be a professional American football player. He is well-known for writing and directing the animated short film Hair Love in 2019. This film won an Academy Award. The project for Hair Love raised almost $300,000 on Kickstarter, which was a record for a short film on that platform.

Early Life and Football

Cherry grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He finished high school in 1999. He then went to the University of Akron. There, he played on the college football team. He studied media and earned a bachelor's degree.

Cherry played college football for four seasons with the Akron Zips. He was a very good wide receiver. He finished his college career as the top receiver in the school's history. He set records for catches, yards, and touchdowns.

Professional Football Career

After college, Cherry signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2004. He was later signed by the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2005, he tried out for the Ottawa Renegades in the Canadian Football League.

In 2006, Cherry signed with the Carolina Panthers. He also played for the Hamburg Sea Devils in NFL Europe. Later that year, he signed with the Baltimore Ravens. However, he got injured and missed the entire season.

Film Career

Cherry stopped playing football in 2007 to start a career in film. He began by working as a production assistant. Then, he started directing music videos. He directed the video for the gospel song "Say Yes" by Michelle Williams.

First Films

Cherry wrote and directed his first film, The Last Fall, in 2012. This movie was shown for the first time at SXSW. It received mixed reviews from critics. The film won an award for Best Screenplay at the American Black Film Festival.

His second film, 9 Rides, came out in 2016. It was special because it was filmed entirely using an iPhone 6s. This might have been the first feature film ever shot with that phone. It also premiered at SXSW. Critics praised Cherry for what he could do with a small budget.

Hair Love Success

In 2017, Cherry started a Kickstarter campaign for an animated short film called Hair Love. He wanted to raise $75,000, but people loved the idea so much that he raised almost $300,000! He directed the film with Everett Downing and Bruce W. Smith.

On March 20, 2019, Sony Pictures Animation decided to release Hair Love. It was shown in theaters before The Angry Birds Movie 2 starting on August 14, 2019. The film won the 2020 Academy Award for Best Animated Short. Cherry accepted the award with his fellow producer, Karen Rupert Toliver.

In 2020, Cherry became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is a group of people who work in movies and vote on the Academy Awards.

Television Work

In June 2020, Cherry made a deal with Warner Bros. Television. This means he will create TV shows for them.

On July 7, 2020, HBO Max ordered a 12-episode animated series called Young Love. This show is based on his short film Hair Love.

Upcoming Projects

Matthew Cherry is working on several new projects. These include a comedy movie called The Come Up for New Line Cinema. He is also working on an animated project called Tut for Sony Pictures Animation. In 2021, he directed the first episode of The Kings of Napa for OWN. In 2022, it was announced he would direct Redd Zone, a football drama movie for Netflix, starring Jada Pinkett Smith.

Filmography

Film

Executive producer

• BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Production consultant

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Television

Director

Co-producer

• The Last O.G. (2019) (Episode "Sound of Da Police")