Filmmaking Portfolio

In Custody Deaths in Riverside County Jails (short documentary) - directed, shot and edited

Lisa Matus spoke with her son, Richard Matus Jr., just hours before his death. Richard, a single father, had also just spoken to his daughter as he did every night.

He died on her first day of eighth grade. 

Richard Matus Jr., 29, was one of seven people whose deaths were listed as accidental drug overdoses by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office in 2022. He died at Cois M. Byrd Detention Center on Aug. 11, 2022.

At the time of his death, four years into custody, Matus was preparing to represent himself on charges of robbery and attempted murder. He had dismissed his court-appointed attorney, who wanted him to accept a plea deal. 

An autopsy concluded that Matus overdosed on fentanyl, but his mother, Lisa Matus, said her son would never knowingly take drugs. 

She found that Richard’s autopsy report was not consistent with an overdose, noting the blunt trauma to his head, abdomen and extremities.

Lisa and other families who lost a loved one in 2022,  all of whom were pretrial detainees (someone awaiting their trial in jail usually because they cannot afford bail), contend it is a conflict of interest for Sheriff Chad Bianco to serve as both Riverside County Sheriff and Coroner. California is one of only three states that allows this. 

Over the past seven months, Black Voice News investigated in-custody deaths inside Riverside County Jails.

This investigative project was supported by a collaboration of Investigative Editing Corps and Report for America and the reporting was produced with support from inewsource, a nonprofit investigative newsroom in San Diego. 

Seeking Asylum (Feature Documentary) - camera work.

Seeking Asylum is a feature documentary that bears witness to the endless deterrents migrants face when petitioning for asylum in the United States. In a dismantled system that has been designed for failure, we follow one woman's journey as she searches for protection for her and kids. Watch it on Apple TV and Amazon.

Magda (Short) - art department.

A Catholic nun is forced to choose between her religious beliefs and her pregnant sister's life in modern day Poland, due to the near-total abortion bans. Starring Kasia Pilewicz and Abigail Breslin.

UCLA Extension Directing 2021 - 2022

This is a one minute short film from a one minute silent film project UCLA Directing course.

After this course I went on to take a three month intensive short film workshop. My short film is currently in development.