My Florida Home

Guilt is a powerful and universal emotion. An emotion that is at the heart of my first feature
screenplay, My Florida Home.

As a recovering alcoholic, guilt clouds my everyday life. The guilt of poor decisions,
emotional abuse, and self-deprecation. One of the strongest forms of guilt I deal with on a
daily basis is familial guilt. The guilt of not being there for those who love and care for me
the most. I am a full time communication professor at Florida Southern College and an active
Independent filmmaker. At the age of twenty-six I’ve spent the majority of my twenties
focusing on achieving as much career success as possible. Platonic and romantic
relationships be damned. My Florida Home engages with and explores the idea of familial
guilt and how far we go to absolve ourselves from this guilt.

I plan to push this screenplay into production on location in my new home: Lakeland, Florida.
Through the support of my institution, some private investors, and some external grants,
Icomplete the project over the summer of 2018 or 19. My experience writing and directing a
number of award-winning short films that have screened around the world at festivals like
Dances with Films, New Orleans Film Festival, and Athens International Film and Video
Festival gives me confidence moving into the feature form. I have a unique natural
formalistic style that will make my freshman feature stand out in terms of location,
cinematography, and performance. Think True Detective meets Spotlight.

Regardless of your tough decision, I am dedicated to producing this film. My passion and
love to tell stories is one that is shared by so many around me. But, damn could I use the
help. I truly hope that my screenplay speaks to you and the rest of the ScreenCraft team.

Thank you for your time and your consideration. I’ve included links to examples of my
previous work. If you have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Onward,

Matthew Herbertz, MFA

Example Work:
Relax (in post-production)
https://vimeo.com/223136594/e98fb30eb3

A Man of God:
https://vimeo.com/129615986
Password: screen

Deadpoint:
https://vimeo.com/202641861

Cinematography Reel:
https://vimeo.com/197437459