Travis Matthews – Discreet #Berlinale

February 27, 2017

Travis Matthews - Discreet #Berlinale fredfilmradio

Podcast | Download

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Travis Matthews, director of the film Discreet.

Travis Matthews, a veteran to the Panorama section at Berlinale, talks with Angelo Acerbi about his most challenging film to date: a thriller, as far as plot is concerned, but with a narrative that totally eludes all the rules of the genre. There were social and political reasons behind this project, and, peculiar as it is, the film brings out a new and enticing way of filmaking that will surely struck some chords.

Discreet: bacon sizzling in fat, a young woman thanking the subscribers of her YouTube channel, a corpse neatly wrapped up in black garbage bags and floating down a river – as clear as the first few images of Travis Mathews’ mystery thriller may be, the connections only become clearer gradually, as if they were emerging from the subconscious. This elliptically edited story, which revolves around a man who can no longer be described as young, is accompanied by an eerie soundscape. Filmmaker Alex lives in a van. He sets up his camera in rural areas in the US, in the no-man’s land near highways. During a visit to his mother, a former alcoholic, she shares with him a well-kept secret. There is also a small boy, with whom Alex develops an unexpectedly close relationship. Director Mathews chronicles a modern day gay existence in the West – from anonymous sex to heterosexual porn in a sex bar cabin, or as a service in a motel room. A small house and a life on the margins of society. Meanwhile, on the radio, we are treated to a steady stream of right-wing slogans against everything that is not white and heterosexual, here in Texas.

For the film page on the festival website click here.

Written by: fredfilmradio

Berlinale Discreet Travis Matthews

Guest

Travis Matthews

Film

Discreet

Festival

Berlinale

Rate it

Channel posts

Interview

Festa del Cinema di Roma

“Dreams”, interview with director Michel Franco

October 24, 2025

Discover Michel Franco’s film "Dreams", exploring the crossing of borders and social — highlighting the immigrant struggle and the illusion of the American dream.