Heinman directed Cartel Land, a documentary about the Mexican drug trade and the vigilantism to combat it.
It centers on the story of Dr. Jose Manuel Mireles, a doctor in the Mexican state of Michoacán.
Mireles leads a group of citizens who take up arms against drug traffickers, resulting in gun battles on the streets and clashes with federal police.
Cartel Land premiered at 2015 Sundance Fest, where it won Best Director U.S. Documentary and Documentary Special Jury Award: Cinematography (U.S. Documentary).
The film later had screenings at the 2015 True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Mo., and had its New York debut at the 2015 Tribeca Film Fest.
The film was released theatrically by The Orchard in July 2015 and had its broadcast premiere on A&E in January 2016.
It has been nominated for numerous awards, including Best Documentary Feature Oscar, and BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
It won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. In addition, Cartel Land was nominated for a Gotham Award, Critics’ Choice Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.
It was presented with the 2015 Documentary Award by the George Polk Awards in Investigative Journalism.
“I wanted to tackle huge, complicated subjects—vigilantism, border security, the drug war—but in a far more personal and targeted way, through the eyes of the compelling and deeply complex individuals at the heart of these vigilante movements,” Heineman said at the film’s Sundance premiere.
Heineman conceived the film after reading a news article on the New York City Subway about vigilantes tracking drug cartels along the U.S.-Mexican border in Mexico. “I didn’t know much about border, or vigilantism. But from the moment I read it, I knew I wanted to make this film.”
The film draws parallel storylines about two groups of vigilantes fighting against the drug trade on both sides of the border.
Heineman was also one of two cinematographers credited in the film. “I never knew who I was with—the good guys or the bad guys,” Heineman said at Sundance Film Fest.
The film received positive reviews in trade publications such as Variety. “The pic’s lush, aestheticized imagery is an impressive surprise, and the film has no shortage of ace handheld work,” wrote reviewer Ben Kenigsberg.[21] IndieWire called it: “Disturbing, dangerous, and thrilling, Cartel Land is a fearsome reflection on the breakdown of order and the line between obeying the law and staying alive.”
City of Ghosts
City of Ghosts is a 2017 feature documentary directed, produced, and filmed by Heineman.
It follows the journey of Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently—a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland of Syria was taken over by ISIS in 2014.
City of Ghosts tells the story of a group of Syrian citizen journalists as they face life undercover, on the run, and in exile.
The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Fest, and was acquired by Amazon Studios.
It was released theatrically by Amazon and IFC Films on July 14, 2017.
A Private War
Matthew Heineman directed A Private War, a biopic starring Rosamund Pike as journalist Marie Colvin.
The film is based on the 2012 article “Marie Colvin’s Private War” in Vanity Fair by Marie Brenner.
The film was written by Arash Amel and features Jamie Dornan, Tom Hollander, and Stanley Tucci. The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on November 2, 2018.
Heineman received a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of First Time Feature Film Director from the Directors Guild of America.
American Symphony
In September 2023, Heineman released American Symphony, which records the process of Jon Batiste composing his first symphony while his partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, is battling the return of her cancer.
