In our latest episode, host Jacob Badagliacco sits down with Chicago Filmmaker & Composer Matt Ronzani, who shares how a "now-or-never" moment led to the production of his first feature film - and how this experience stayed with him going into his current projects.
In our latest episode, host Jacob Badagliacco sits down with Chicago Filmmaker & Composer Matt Ronzani, who shares how a "now-or-never" moment led to the production of his first feature film - and how this experience has stayed with him going into his current projects.
About Matt:
Matt is the writer, director, cinematographer, editor, and composer of the feature film "The Last American Possession" which premiered to a sold out crowd at Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre in July of 2024. He performed the same roles (except cinematographer) for his follow up horror/drama short "Corner of My Eye," which won Best Director at Milwaukee Horror Con, Best Short Film at The Jersey Devil Festival, and was nominated for Best Male Performance at Blood Bash 2026.
Connect with Matt:
Website: https://www.mattronzani.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattstrattonronzani/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3936635/
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:10 Appeal of the Horror Genre in Filmmaking
4:55 Mindset and Process Behind his First Feature Film
10:50 Seeing this Project as a “Film School” to Build From
13:40 Using Prior Projects to Help with Networking
15:16 Learnings Brought into his Recent Short
17:40 Creating Original Music for Both Projects
19:02 Distribution Strategies for Features vs Shorts
24:24 What’s Next for Matt’s Career
26:16 Matt’s Final Advice to Chicago Creatives