Matthew Heineman (Retrograde)

Matthew Heineman is an Oscar-nominated director whose films plunge viewers deep into some of the most tumultuous conflicts in the world. His new film, "Retrograde", tells the story of the last months of the 20-year war in Afghanistan through the intimate relationship between American Green Berets and the Afghan officers they trained, resulting in the heart-wrenching fall of Kabul. In this conversation with Tiller, Matthew reflects on his own fascination with military service (3:20), pivoting from filming the Green Berets to Afghan General Sami Sadat (6:56), how he achieved such incredible intimacy with his subjects (9:50), constructing the story in real time (16:02), the parallels between himself and his protagonist (22:20), sneaking back into Kabul during the fall (24:54), crying while filming (30:15), and how he plans to push himself further as a storyteller (32:50).