Mat Hames is an acclaimed filmmaker known for exploring history and memory, with his work featured on Independent Lens, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, HBO, SundanceTV, Netflix, and Kanopy. Knighted by King Albert II of Belgium for Last Best Hope, his WWII film on the Belgian Resistance, Hames has earned numerous accolades, including an Emmy nomination for Fossil Country and an IDA nomination for When I Rise, which premiered at SXSW. His PBS series Power Trip: The Story of Energy spans 12 hours and was filmed globally with support from the Sloan and Rockefeller Foundations. Other notable works include What Was Ours (Independent Lens), A State of Mind (four regional Emmys), The Art of Home, and Fighting Goliath, narrated by Robert Redford. Hames directs national TV commercials alongside his documentary work and oversees the staff of Alpheus Media, an Austin-based film studio creating content for global brands and streaming platforms.
STREAM 'POWER TRIP: THE STORY OF ENERGY'
“Power Trip: the Story of Energy” is a top 10 rated streaming show on the Prime Channel ‘PBS Documentaries’. The 12-part, 12-hour-long doc series directed by Mat Hames is based on Michael E. Webber's book ( New York Times Review). Funded by the Sloan Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, the Bollinger Family, the Pritzker Innovation Fund, University of Texas at Austin and more. Season One explores energy in WATER, FOOD, CITIES, TRANSPORTATION, WEALTH and WAR. Season Two reveals energy as the underlying force that carries us to SPACE, causes large-scale DISASTERS, transforms WORK, CULTURE, and ENTERTAINMENT, and drives GLOBALIZATION. Telly Award winner. Here is how you can watch:
Stream "Power Trip: The Story of Energy - A Documentary Series”, now available:
on Amazon Prime Video, as part of a PBS Documentaries Subscription
on AppleTV
Using your ROKU
FREE - Our 1st episode, WATER, was selected by PBS for their Official YouTube Channel.
The PBS App (on your Smart TV, search for PBS in your app store) and at PBS.org
Broadcasting nationally on PBS (check your local station listings)
How An Austin Filmmaker Ended Up Knighted In Belgium...
A fun interview I did with Austin American Statesman reporter Hannah Ortega.
Click to read the article (Podcast Interview Included)
WAITING FOR THE PUNCHLINE RELEASED ON YOUTUBE
Waiting for the Punchline follows podcaster Nick Scarpino as he attempts to break into the world of stand up comedy in San Francisco. The doc was directed for Rooster Teeth, a subsidiary of Warner Bros Discovery, as part of the RTDocs series. Official selection of multiple festivals and nominated for the Nesnady and Schwartz Documentary Competition ‘Best Documentary’ at the ClevelandFilm Festival.
Kinda Funny has released the film on their official YouTube Channel. Watch it here.
GUEST LECTURES: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA TECH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND VIRGINIA TECH - METAPHOR: THE LANGUAGE OF FILMMAKERS (1.5 hour lecture)
I had the honor of guest lecturing at Columbia University and Virginia Tech as an invited guest of Linguistics Professor Kathryn O’Shields PhD. My lecture titled ‘Metaphor: The Language of Filmmakers’ describes how metaphor is used by film makers to communicate things that dialogue can’t. I also discuss the search for metaphor in documentary production, how it is usually a ‘happy accident’, and documentary filmmakers always have to be ready for metaphor to reveal itself. I talk about my own films (‘When I Rise’, ‘What Was Ours’ as well as documentaries ‘Rich Hill’ and ‘Grey Gardens’.
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN- ETHICS IN INTERVIEWING FOR DOCUMENTARY (1 hour lecture)
For the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work, my guest lecture was for the class of Professor Suzanne Potts, called ‘Ethics in Interviewing for Documentary’. This lecture explores how to approach documentary subjects with dignity. Interviewing subjects for a documentary about personal stories - transparency, openness and honesty about your intentions are the keys to opening the windows to access and keeping them open.
FOSSIL COUNTRY - NEW POSTER BY MIDNIGHT MAURADER
My feature documentary ‘Fossil Country’, is now airing nationwide in the USA on PBS, currently with more than 200 broadcasts. Hardscrabble fossil hunters in Wyoming make astounding discoveries that change what we know about the earth’s history. The mining town of Kemmerer, in the Green River Formation, is ground zero for the best fossil collecting in the world. Geology, history, and entrepreneurship all come to life through human stories of fossil hunters seeking a rare discovery — and a big payday.
Poster design by Midnight Marauder.
