Matthias Visser

Matthias is a native of Germany. After fulfilling his obligatory military service, he came to the US to study at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He majored in Political Science and Economics and won several titles as a member of the Duke Tennis Team. In his summers he worked in New York City on the floor of the American Stock Exchange, as an assistant in the Brokerage House Prudential Backe. During his junior year, he worked on the student film AESTHETIC STANDARD, an experience that triggered his interest in film. That summer, he studied at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York Univeristy, and prepared his senior thesis project, FREE TO FALL. This film was independently produced by Matthias and became Duke's first 35mm student short film that led to the establishment of a film and TV program. After completing his undergraduale education, he returned to Germany to start a career in filmmaking. For two years, he gathered extensive experience as Production Manager and Assistant Director for a number of film companies in Munich. In his first year at the American Film Institute, he produced four short films and was the recipient of the Joseph and Olga Auerbach Award for Best Foreign Fellow.