Matthew Bonifacio

Matthew Bonifacio is an award-winning director, producer, writer, and Film Independent Spirit Award nominee. His directorial feature film debut, "Lbs." (Carmine Famiglietti, Michael Aronov, Miriam Shor), was an official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for the Alfred P. Sloan Award. "Lbs.," co-written and produced by Matthew, had a limited release in 2010 with the #1 per screen-average in the country its opening weekend. The film went on to play in seven cities, earned a 90% Fresh rating by Top Critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and was selected by Bilge Ebiri as a New York Magazine Critics' Pick. In 2011, "Lbs." was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Matthew directed and produced his second feature film, "Amexicano" (Raul Castillo's feature film debut), which made its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. The film had a limited theatrical release and was highly praised by critics from Variety, The New York Times, Village Voice, and New York Daily News. "The Quitter" marked Matthew's first film as an actor and director. "The Quitter" had an exclusive theatrical engagement with Regal Cinemas in 2014, and received positive reviews in The New York Times, New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, Film Journal International and many others. "The Quitter" was picked-up by Cinetic Media's FilmBuff (now Gunpowder & Sky) and released across all platforms (iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, GooglePlay). HULU acquired and released The Quitter for streaming. "The Quitter" made its Television debut on PBS/WNET. Matthew's award-winning short films have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival (2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019), Palm Springs International Shortfest, Aspen Shortsfest, Florida Film Festival, Williamstown Film Festival, Nantucket Film Festival, Maui Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival, Flickerfest International Short Film Festival, St. Louis Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles, and many others. His short film "The Watering Hole" won the first-ever Tropfest at Tribeca Film Festival. A jury of Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon, Darren Aronofsky, Caroline Baron, Famke Janssen, Anthony Lapaglia, and Charles Randolph selected it as the winner. His shorts, "Migraine" (featuring Nathan Lee Graham and Laverne Cox), and "Fortune House" (starring 2017 Tony Award Winner Michael Aronov), are distributed by Shorts International and are available on iTunes. "Fortune House" won the Christopher and Dana Reeve Award for Best Short Film. Matthew also directed, wrote and produced the short documentary, "Libero (Free)," which was commissioned by DICK'S Sporting Goods/Tribeca Digital Studios and world premiered on ESPN. "Last Pick-Up," starring 2016 Tony Award Winner Reed Birney, made its world premiere at 2018 Outfest Los Angeles. Matthew directed "Master Maggie" (2019 Tribeca Film Festival), starring Lorraine Bracco, Neil Jain, Brian Dennehy, Kenan Thompson, and Chris Henry Coffey. Matthew co-wrote and produced the project with his wife, Julianna Gelinas Bonifacio. He has directed and produced commercials that have won Telly and Cine Golden Eagle Awards. Matthew also won a Special Achievement Award for Direction at the Intercom/Chicago International Film Festival. Matthew is also a professor in the Department of Performing Arts at Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at Pace University. He teaches (BFA) Acting for Film and Television. He is also recognized as one of the top on-camera acting coaches and teachers in New York City, and frequently guest lectures at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. As an actor, Matthew studied at The William Esper Studio. He made his film acting debut as the lead role in "Pishadoo." The film won the Princess Grace Award (from the Princess Grace Kelly Foundation) for Best Narrative Short in the country, and was distributed by Canal Plus Europe, Sundance Channel, Atom Films, and United Airlines. Matthew also played various roles in the New York Off-Broadway hit show, "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" for several years. Matthew was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, where he currently lives with his wife.