Francisca Matos

As an army brat, I grew up on U.S. military bases where subsidized movies were often my only cultural influence. My father was a Puerto Rican from Spanish Harlem who met my German-Italian mother in Heidelberg. When he was re-stationed in Germany, I went on a field trip with my sixth grade class to the home/museum of Nürnberg's Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. His self-portrait came to life for me and awakened a desire to immerse myself in art. I read novels and watched more movies than ever, because, as Pauline Kael once said, they were "the most total and encompassing art form we have." And I began to write.

I wrote, produced, and directed a play that my class was invited to perform for the USO. When it got laughs from the G.I.s, I was hooked. And knew, one day, I would make movies.

My current projects include:

-Untitled Holiday-Comedy-Romance (writer/producer), a collaboration with David B. Marden (writer). Multiple award-winner Tomy Wigand is attached to direct and produce.

-Untitled Supernatural Romantic Comedy (writer/producer), a collaboration with Michael H. Borden (writer), Tomy Wigand (director/producer).

-Untitled Romantic Comedy (writer), inspired by true events. Becky Brake (producer).

-Untitled Animation Series (writer/producer), a collaboration with Robert Grasmere (writer/producer).

-"It's A Dog's Life" [a music-based limited-series inspired by true events] (writer/producer), a collaboration with Bobby Colonna (creator/writer/producer). Rock journalist, music historian, and author James Campion, podcast co-host of "Underwater Sunshine" with Adam Duritz (Counting Crows), will also collaborate on episodes of "It's A Dog's Life."

-"Y" (producer) - optioned the novel by James Campion

I'm drawn to stories about synchronicity, the magic of existence, music as the pulse and connecting force of the characters' intersecting lives.