Meet MATR
MATR Labs is a consultancy for a new era of storytelling based on the belief that stories shape movements and transform our changing global culture. We partner with creators, funders, and brands to propel narrative change by engineering and amplifying projects that matter.
Who We Are
We are a team of veteran producers, content strategists, and audience engagement and impact specialists focused on end-to-end development, production, and release of culturally significant content.
Named for mater—the Latin word for mother—and matter, the essence of all things, MATR nurtures creation, connection, and significance.
What We Do
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We nurture narratives about the human experience - researching, developing and creating character driven, auteur led stories which resonate with audiences.
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We craft intentional plans for stories to reach audiences, ensuring their organic power is matched by their reach. By aligning creators, marketers, and funders, distribution becomes a seamless extension of the story's values.
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Our audience-focused campaigns transform stories into movements, ensuring resonance across the content lifecycle.
Who We Serve
MATR collaborates with creators, philanthropists, and brands looking to make an impact and communicate through shortform and longform narrative.
MATR also nurtures new ventures, serving as an incubator for storytelling initiatives focused on deep audience engagement.
Why MATR?
Now more than ever, consumers seek stories that resonate with their values and create pathways of inspiration amid evolving global dynamics. Artists, philanthropists, and brands have never been more focused on communicating what they value.
Compelling high-value content can bridge these efforts, though current distribution systems are ossified and no longer serve all stories effectively. Collaboration is key for funders, creatives, and consumer-facing brands to create followship and maximize reach.
MATR Labs connects the dots.
Three founders with over 30 years of broad ranging experience.
Our consultancy leverages decades of expertise in creative development, media financing, distribution, marketing, and impact strategy to collaborate with filmmakers, brands, and organizations. We offer tailored solutions from concept to distribution and audience engagement.
Expand bios below for what we bring to the table.
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Amanda Chen is a seasoned leader in social justice, public health, and campaign strategy, with over 20 years of experience driving systemic change. Formerly Head of Global Health at the Clinton Global Initiative, Chen later directed foundation work for Participant’s agency and led a team of impact strategists across Participant’s acclaimed film and television slate. As co-founder of MATR Labs, she channels her expertise in building transformative impact campaigns to deepen audience engagement and maximize impact.
As Senior Vice President of Impact, Chen led Participant's Impact and Engagement work, overseeing impact strategy and partnerships across Participant’s documentary and narrative film and TV slate. Chen produced impact campaigns for critically acclaimed and award-winning films spanning the issues of mental health care for the healthcare workforce, harm reduction, environmental and climate justice, access to education and human rights. In 2017, she initiated and oversaw Participant’s first B Corp certification, resulting in ongoing internal programs to improve corporate social and environmental practices and regular assessment and re-certification.
Before focusing exclusively on Participant's content slate, Chen built and oversaw Take Part World, a multi-media global health and development content series on Participant’s digital and TV platforms, funded by the Gates Foundation.
Prior to Participant, Chen was Associate Director of Commitments at the Clinton Global Initiative, where she oversaw global health-related programming, managed a portfolio of 260 commitments and developed new commitment projects related to the health of women and children, nutrition, and agriculture/food systems and built partnerships across sectors for change. She also designed protocols for impact analysis and led the strategy to evolve CGI’s model for greater connection through network design.
Chen is a Southern CA Leadership Network Fellow and was named one of Variety’s New Hollywood Leaders in Social Impact in 2018. Chen holds a B.A. in International Development from UCLA and an M.A. in Global Political Economy from UCSB.
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A 30-year entertainment industry veteran, Copland has worked in the specialty film sector for most of her career, with the goal of democratizing distribution for unique, independently produced projects. As President and Co-founder of MATR Labs, Liesl brings her extensive marketplace experience, her digital media experience and credibility, talent relationships and deep strategic advisory expertise to bear on projects from development to release with a specialty in sales, distribution and audience amplification strategies for content in all formats. As Executive Vice President of Content Strategy at Participant, Liesl oversaw Participant’s global sales efforts and worked in tandem with the company’s content teams throughout development and production, advising on optimal strategic options and partner strategy for all of Participant’s projects. She also worked within the C-suite on M&A and the company's larger strategic objectives ensuring that the company’s impact-focused slate met the demands of the marketplace and found the widest possible audience.
Prior to Participant, Liesl worked at powerhouses including WME, Netflix and Endeavor Content, and is known for advising companies and A-list creatives on the always evolving media landscape. Her deep and varied experience allows her to bring her market focus to high-quality, talent led, vision based film and television projects.
Before joining Participant, Copland was a Partner and EVP at Endeavor Content where she ran their Documentary practice after years of being at WME focused on film advisory, sales and financing. She oversaw feature documentaries and premium nonfiction series and provided strategic advice to the studio’s growing production partners. During her twelve years with the Endeavor suite of companies, Copland focused on the emerging digital distribution space as part of her corporate advisory work and consulted for numerous startups.
Prior to joining Endeavor in 2008, Copland acted as the Head of Red Envelope Entertainment, the former original content division of Netflix, where she oversaw the acquisition, marketing and distribution of close to 100 films a year during their three years in existence. She developed a reputation for successfully forging innovative partnerships with studios and mini-majors, boutique distribution labels and nontraditional, new media-focused outlets. Her previous entertainment industry experience includes time at New York-based Cinetic Media, years as an independent producer as well as posts at the Tribeca Film Festival and IFP.
Across her entire career, Copland has built in a double bottom line approach to her practice and has a deep focus on social justice reform and impact focused content. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on the Board of Represent Justice as well as the advisory boards of SommTV and EngageStream. Copland is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with degrees in both English Literature and Art History.
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Jannat Gargi is an Emmy and Peabody-winning producer, known for her work on the Academy Award-winning documentary, Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). With over 30 years in the entertainment industry, Gargi has a proven track record for developing and producing a wide range of acclaimed, cause based documentary films and series. As co-founder of MATR Labs, she brings her decades long passion for producing documentaries which shine a light on many of our most pressing social issues including climate change, wildlife conservation, human trafficking, mental health, homelessness, recidivism, inequality and access to arts and education for all.
As SVP of Documentaries for Westbrook Studios (founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith), Gargi established the documentary division with a premium slate of films including Copa71, with executive producers Serena and Venus Williams, The Debutantes, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in June 2024 and Full Circle: The First All Black Everest Ascent currently in post-production. Prior to joining Westbrook, Gargi served as VP of Documentaries for VICE Studios overseeing development and production for a slate of documentaries and series including three-time Academy Award nominated documentary FLEE (2022) and The American Gladiators for ESPN’s 30 For 30 series (2023).
Prior to VICE Studios, Gargi served as Head of Documentary Films for Vulcan Productions (founded by Paul G. Allen) where she developed and produced numerous social impact documentary films including Academy Award Nominated short, Lead Me Home (2022), News & Documentary Emmy nominated LIFT (2023), Master of Light, Grand Jury Prize winner SXSW (2022), Academy Award nominated, Hunger Ward (2021), Sundance Audience Award winner The Reason I Jump (2019), and Academy Award nominated and Emmy Award-winning Body Team 12 (2016). In her work as an independent producer, Gargi served as showrunner and producer of the true crime limited series, Murder Among the Mormons with BBC Studios for Netflix (2021), co-executive produced the Academy Award nominated short documentary Knife Skills (2018) and produced the Emmy nominated documentary CIRCO (2010).
Gargi is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Documentary Branch (AMPAS), Producers Guild of America (PGA), serves on the Board of Directors for Washington FilmWorks and The Redford Center Board of Directors, a non-profit that harnesses the power of media to engage people and galvanize environmental action. Gargi is a graduate of the University of Washington with a B.A. in English Literature and minor in Film Studies.