Documentary Editor
Work shown at Sundance, Cannes, and Hot Docs, with broadcasts on HBO, PBS, and Discovery+.
Coming Soon
A daughter's search to uncover the racism that sidelined her mother's pioneering career in genetics becomes a mirror for scientific exploitation of Black families.
2025
A former KGB officer confronts his past as truths about Cold War espionage emerge, revealing the human toll of ideological conflict.
2025
A haunting exploration of memory and loss as a family grapples with absence across generations and continents.
DOC NYC 2025
2022
Ex-combatants from Colombia's civil war struggle to reintegrate into society, revealing the profound challenges of peace after decades of conflict.
Vaclav Havel Award for Outstanding Work on Human Rights
Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, DOC NYC
2014
A groundbreaking exploration of the role of photography in shaping the identity, aspirations, and social emergence of African Americans from slavery to the present.
Sundance Film Festival, AFI Docs
PBS / Independent Lens
2019
A hotel housekeeper becomes the first Asian-American woman elected to office in Rhode Island, navigating the challenges of political power while staying true to her working-class roots.
LOLA Award Winner
PBS / POV
2021
In conservative Bangladesh, a group of young women challenge societal norms by becoming the country's first female surfers, riding waves of change both literally and figuratively.
Independent Spirit Award Nomination
Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, AFI Docs
Documentary Editor
Matthew Cohn is a documentary editor whose work has shown at festivals including Sundance, Cannes Directors' Fortnight, Hot Docs, and SXSW, with broadcasts on HBO, PBS, and Discovery+. He is particularly drawn to films that spotlight marginalized voices and challenge societal norms.
Recent projects include Thomas Allen Harris's My Mom, The Scientist, Katharina Otto-Bernstein's The Last Spy, and Marialuisa Ernst's A Place of Absence (DocNYC 2025). Previous credits include the Indie Spirit-nominated Bangla Surf Girls, LOLA Award-winning Councilwoman (PBS), Vaclav Havel Award-winning Strangers to Peace, and Thomas Allen Harris's groundbreaking Through A Lens Darkly (Sundance, PBS).
Matthew has collaborated with Janus Films, RADiUS, Magnolia Pictures, and Film Movement. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he began his career at Submarine Entertainment and now mentors emerging filmmakers at Bronx Documentary Center and UnionDocs.