My name is Matthew A. Cherry and I am the writer/director of the The Last Fall feature film and my filming experience has been both surreal and collaborative. The Last Fall is a coming of age sports drama about a professional athletes difficult transition into life after sports. It's a story that I am personally connected to as I used to play professional football, and it's a story that has never been told on the big screen before. The film stars Lance Gross, Nicole Beharie, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Harry Lennix and Keith David and is produced by Scott Hebert, Nikki Love and Lucky Manning and is Executive Produced by Matthew A. Cherry, Ellis Hobbs, Monique Hobbs and Lance Gross.
First and foremost, I owe honor and praise for everything that has happened with this project to God and my mother. My mom passed away two months ago while we were in pre-production for this film and it was through her that this film was even able to come together at the level that it did. The day before she passed I emailed her and let her know that I loved her and I appreciated what she did for me and that I was working on something big. The fact that I told her about the film is what was able to get me through what I can honestly say was the hardest thing I ever did in my life.
It was by chance and through social networking that I met two of our executive producers, Ellis and Monique Hobbs. Myself and my producing partner Scott Hebert initially attempted to raise for this film though the crowd funding website www.indiegogo.com. Within a week of posting our pitch Monique, who just so happened to be following me on twitter saw it and presented our project to her husband. They liked what the film was about and it was from their that we discussed collaborating on the project.
Filmmaking is the ultimate collaborative art form. Every piece of the puzzle is just as important as any other, whether it be the PA, the AD producer or director, and you cannot take anyone or anything for granted. Writing and directing this film has been one of my life's greatest joys and I am extremely proud of our cast and crew for believing in me and my vision and trusting me to get it done.
Shooting this film was hard for me. I come from a music video background and I am used to moving on the fly and being extremely flexible with my vision and transitioning into the feature film format was a challenge for me. We didn't have the biggest budget and a lot of things changed at the last-minute, but thank god for my producers, Scott Hebert, Nikki Love and Lucky Manning and my assistant directors. We pushed through and we got it done, and I can't wait for you guys to see it.