Matthew Bonifacio

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Matthew Bonifacio was the son of a longshoreman, but his own passion lay in acting. A movie devotee from an early age, he began performing in short films and plays in Manhattan. In 1991, he met actor and comedian Carmine Famiglietti while both were serving as extras in Spike Lee's "Malcolm X." The pair would soon become fast friends and collaborators for the next two decades through their company, The Brooklyn-Queens Experiment. Meanwhile, Bonifacio's interests began to shift towards a role behind the camera. After finding the college reading lists from New York University and Columbia University's film schools, he began to educate himself on the intricacies of film directing.In 2003, he directed his first short, "From Woodside, Queens" (2003), about a would-be comedian faced with abandoning his stage dreams in order to make ends meet. The following year, he made his feature debut with "Lbs." (2004), a drama starring Famiglietti - who also co-wrote and co-produced the film - as a heavyset man who discovered much-needed self-worth as he attempted to rein some control over his food addiction. Inspired by the death of Bonifacio's father from diabetes, as well as Famiglietti's own struggles with weight issues, the picture premiered at the 2004 Sundance film festival, where it received a nomination for the Alfred P. Sloan Award. However, six more years would pass before the film would receive a theatrical release.While waiting for "Lbs." to find a proper home, Bonifacio and Famiglietti produced a string of short films, including "Bagelized!" (2004), with Famiglietti as a skilled baker who gives up his bagel-making secrets to an attractive new employee, and 2006's "New Boobs," a comedy about a young woman who attempts to non-surgically enhance her bust in order to attract a neighbor. Produced for the online company AtomFilmStudio, it was their most viewed short. In 2006, his short "The Watering Hole," with Famiglietti as a father and husband grieving for his dead wife, earned the top prize at the Tribeca Film Festival's Tropfest@Tribeca. The Brooklyn-Queens Experiment also began producing commercials for clients ranging from Major League Baseball to HSBC and Open Up, which won Bonifacio a Special Achievement Award at the Intercom/Chicago International Film Festival.The following year, the duo released their sophomore feature, "Amexicano" (2007), a timely drama about an unemployed laborer (Famiglietti) and a Mexican immigrant (Raul Castillo) he hires and later befriends. A popular feature on the festival circuit, the film debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival, and won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2007 Sonoma Valley Film Festival. Bonifacio and Famiglietti then produced and co-wrote "My Radio is Bigger Than Yours" (2009), a promotional short for Grammy-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco. In 2010, "Lbs." finally earned its theatrical release with limited but successful screenings in New York and other major cities. The film was nominated for a John Cassavetes Award, which honors creative teams on features made for less for $500,000, by the Independent Spirit Awards. Bonifacio and Famiglietti began work on their third feature, "Not for Nothing," that same year.