Mario Mattei was born in Phoenix, Arizona on August 16, 1979. He is an American film director, writer, and cinematographer known for The Gentleman Driver (2018) on Netflix and Being Thomas (2016). Growing up he was always artistic, drawing continuously and taking photos on his Kodak disposable camera as a 7yr old which eventually led him to a 35mm SLR camera. After art school and a short career in graphic design he lived in Kashmir, India doing world photography and writing poetry. Later he married Angela Mattei and attended Arizona State University for creative writing. His photography and storytelling merged in his first feature documentary which examined dying cultural practices in northeastern Turkey. This led to more video production work and ongoing creative, original film projects. Mario Mattei is now based out of Austin, Texas with his wife and three children where he earns a living as a visual story designer for brands and continues to travel for film and television.