André Gil Mata was born in 1978. Having studied mathematics, he has worked mostly with photography, theatre and film. He founded the Portuguese photography and cinema laboratory Átomo 47. In 2009, his debut short-film Water Ark won several awards having been shown in several international festivals, as well as his second short-film House. The Gravedigger, his third short-film, won the Mèlies d'Argent and Captivity, his first feature-length documentary won the DocAlliance Award at Cannes, in 2013. Gil Mata finished his master degree in film direction in 2012, at Lisbon Theatre and Film School and is currently undertaking a PhD at Film.Factory (Sarajevo).