Matt Severson

Matt Severson is the Executive Vice President of Academy Collection and Preservation at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He began his journey with the Academy in 1997 in the photograph archive, later curating numerous exhibitions before stepping into the role of Director of the Margaret Herrick Library in 2018. 

A native of Orange County, California, Matt was raised on a cinematic diet that ranged from Monty Python and Japanese monster movies to European art-house cinema and midnight screenings of Eraserhead and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That eclectic mix sparked a lifelong passion for film in all its forms. 

He holds an MA in Film Studies from San Francisco State University, and his writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including Film Comment and The Wrap. In 2023, he edited the exhibition catalog Agnès Varda: Director’s Inspiration, published by the Academy and DelMonico Books.