Oleksiy Matviyenko

Featured

Director / Producer / Cinematographer

Oleksiy is a multi-skilled and a well-rounded filmmaker with special love for directing, cinematography, and producing. The 9 years of film production experience include live-action narrative, animation, and commercial work. Oleksiy is an award-winning filmmaker whose films have played in festivals across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Born in 1987 in Kyiv, Ukraine to Ukrainian parents, Oleksiy's family moved to Toronto, ON in 2001 - a place he now happily and proudly calls home.

Originally wanting to become a biologist, Oleksiy Matviyenko went on to study and complete his Honours B.Sc. in Biology from McMaster University. During a medical physics research trip to Japan in 2008, he uncovered a previously-untapped love for photography, spending the next two years learning the craft on the side. In 2010 he enrolled at Ryerson's Image Arts program for Film Studies in order to fully nurture his creative side.

Featured

At Ryerson Oleksiy received a balanced and well-rounded filmmaking education, covering all aspects of production - casting, craft, gaffing, shooting, directing, producing, sound recording, editing, colour grading, sound post - you name it. Oleksiy directed a short film about two teenage girls running away from their home town (A JOYFUL END); created a documentary project with Thomas Lee that brought together 32 people from 17 places in Canada, the United States, France, Costa Rica, Grenada, Bahamas and Taiwan to all record their evening activities (ONE SATURDAY NIGHT); produced a documentary short directed by Stephen Hosier about a friendly man named Marty who always walks backwards (THE VEGETABLE GAME); shot Martin Bennett’s short film about an army recruit's last night before departure to Afghanistan (THE LAST NIGHT); shot an adaptation of an Isaac Asimov short story (CONSCIOUSNESS) and wrote, directed, and co-produced a quirky indie comedy about mistakes, second chances, and becoming a better person with the help of the Green Fairy (WRONG TURN INTO TOMORROW).

While in film school, Oleksiy has had the benefit of learning from some of the most creative people in our town. From writing taught by Adam Till, to directing taught by Nicola Correia-Damude, to media business by Tom Feiler, to interning at Radke Films, to film theory by Atom Egoyan.

Featured

His latest animation film RAINFALL - directed by the multi-talented & international award-winning Efehan Elbi - is the culmination of that - a film that required expertise in producing, cinematography, and many aspects of post-production. RAINFALL went on to have it's World Premiere at the 16th annual Beverly Hills Film Festival in Hollywood, California and won the Best Animation award from the festival. RAINFALL went on to screen at Rome International Film Festival, Seattle Shorts Film Festival, Mirror Mountain Film Festival, Canadian Film Fest and the British Animation Film Festival, all the while winning 3 more awards - Audience Choice Award (Seattle Shorts), Best Director (Mirror Mountain), and Best Director, Shorts (Canadian Film Fest).

Featured

Molly C. Quinn (who provided the voice of Jessica), Efehan Elbi, and Oleksiy Matviyenko at the World Premiere of RAINFALL at the Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Oleksiy Matviyenko and Efehan Elbi at the Toronto Premiere of RAINFALL at the Canadian Film Fest.

Efehan Elbi and Oleksiy Matviyenko celebrate their win of the Best Animation award from the Beverly Hills Film Festival.

Oleksiy Matviyenko and Efehan Elbi at the Washington Premiere of RAINFALL at the Seattle Shorts Film Festival.

Oleksiy Matviyenko and Efehan Elbi doing the Post-screening Q&A with Canadian Film Fest's Bern Euler at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto.

RAINFALL featured on a poster of the Seattle Shorts Film Festival, displayed outside the SIFF Cinema Uptown theatre.

Audience in Seattle watching the screening of RAINFALL

Oleksiy Matviyenko and Efehan Elbi during Mirror Mountain's Awards ceremony for the Canadian Premiere of RAINFALL.

Featured

Oleksiy’s latest live-action production is a collaboration with a fellow Toronto and Ryerson director Rebeccah Love called ACRES, a story of two people with a romantic history who have to spend a weekend together after many years apart.

Featured

In addition to being a filmmaker, Oleksiy is also an active fencer and the receiver of McMaster's MVP Award for Men's Fencing in 2009, as well as of four Ryerson Platinum Athlete Awards in four years. Oleksiy has competed in the Ontario University Athletics Fencing Championships for 7 years and won medals in the Team Épée competitions - Silver in 2014 and Bronzes in 2007 and 2012.