Mathew Orzel is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose debut feature documentary, When Two Worlds Collide, co-directed with Heidi Brandenburg, premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize for Best Debut Feature. The film was the culmination of an eight-year filmmaking journey and went on to receive international critical acclaim, winning 18 international awards and earning six additional nominations, including a Cinema Eye nomination. After screening in independent cinemas in the U.S., U.K., Peru, Mexico and Germany, it was released worldwide via Netflix, with Leonardo DiCaprio signing on as Executive Producer.

In 2020, Orzel founded Hairless Dog Films, a production company focused on long-form non-fiction and branded content. That same year, he directed the campaign Committed To The Long Run, which was awarded a Dolphin at the 2020 Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.

His feature credits include Ser Hamlet, which he co-directed and shot as DOP, and Gaming Wall Street, which he co-produced for HBO Max. His work also includes documentary and branded projects for clients including CNN, ARUP, PromPeru and The World’s 50 Best.

He is currently developing Mineralize, a new feature documentary, which he is co-directing with Heidi Brandenburg and producing with Heino Deckert.