Born in Springfield, IL—the home of Abe Lincoln and the corn dog—Matt Brookens grew up making movies for fun. Matt decided that film was his true calling and set off for Chicago, where he earned a degree in film.
In Chicago, Matt worked his way up as a graphic designer in various ad agencies, including Draft FCB, and in-house for Unilever, where he designed for world-renowned brands like TreSemmé, Nexxus, VO5, and St. Ives.
Concurrently, Matt was writing and directing nine award-winning short films, including festival favorite, Skunk Ape!?, a DIY horror comedy about a Bigfoot killing punk rockers.
Just for fun, he co-created a comedy nerd-punk band called Dr. Killbot. For seven years, Matt wrote songs, played guitar, and co-managed the band.
The Art of Pain
In 2007, Matt made his first feature film, a dramedy titled The Art of Pain. In the story, a starving artist learns that great art comes from great pain as his life is systematically ruined by a demented ninja. AoP played at 12 festivals, won 2 awards, and was picked up for worldwide distribution.
Livin’ the Dream in LA
In 2008, Brookens moved to Los Angeles and began working as a senior designer for Guitar Center’s Proprietary Brands. The position expanded to include video production for commercials, demos, and interviews. He co-created some thirty music-related brands, collaborating closely with product managers, manufacturers, artists, and sales teams throughout the company.
After GC, Matt’s career as an editor/producer really took off. He cut and produced projects including pilots, sizzles, reality shows, sketch comedy, commercials, documentaries, horror, and action films for Kevin Hart at Lionsgate, David Zucker, Pilgrim Media, Nat Geo, Disney, CBS, and more.
Currently, Matt is developing his own feature screenplays and audio dramas (dark comedies and horror comedies of course): Illinois Hell Hole, a twisted tale rooted in his home state, and Starface, a rainbow-soaked fever dream inspired by the world of Lisa Frank.