For Matias Cardozo—better known in creative circles as Matt from Matca Films—cannabis is more than a plant. It’s a canvas, a subject, a global passport, and, most importantly, a calling. Since founding his boutique creative agency in 2018, Cardozo has been pushing the visual boundaries of cannabis storytelling, blending macro photography, cinematography, and branding into a singular style that’s quietly reshaping the space.
“I think it’s still a blank form of creating,” Cardozo says. “In other workspaces, I don’t know, architecture or food or fashion, you need to follow some rules. And in the Ganja space, it’s still open, it’s still raw. So we write in this.”
Born in Argentina, now based in Barcelona, Cardozo leads a nine-person international team. Together, they capture the nuances of flower and hash the way fashion photographers shoot couture—except instead of the runway, Cardozo’s studio is sometimes a rural farm in Northern California or a covert grow in Italy.
The work ranges from intricate macro shots of trichomes to full-on brand strategies. “It all started in California and then I moved to Buenos Aires for a couple of years,” he explains. “But it’s kind of very far away from all the work. So we decide to, with my partner—it is Lua, she’s the director of photography—we moved here to Barcelona eight months ago. Here it’s great. I mean we can travel a lot easier than being in Argentina.”
That mobility is paying off. Matca Films is currently working on projects in North Macedonia, Portugal, and Thailand. And they’re just getting started.
“We want to do more documentary parts, more short films,” Cardozo says. “We are planning to make a documentary about the future of cannabis… maybe go to Asia too and try to see where we are as a community.”
But for all their movement, some of the most difficult work happens behind closed doors. Cardozo is a macro photography obsessive—spending hours alone in his studio, stacking photos so sharp they expose the soul of the plant.
“It’s very technical and a lot of gear used,” he says. “For the last couple of years, all my extra I invest in my gear because it’s very technical. Each lens needs to improve lighting, improve stack shots… I am a night person sometimes and I use it for macro photo shoots.”
The discipline is intense: “You get frosted sometimes because you get there one day, second day and you don’t get it, but you need to continue persist. So I think it’s that—it’s kind of patience and consistency.”
With most cannabis platforms still shackled by censorship, Matca is also launching 4MAG, a new print magazine heavy on macro visuals and minimal text. “It’s going to be kind of our portfolio and space to create without censorship,” he says. “Almost all the content I make is a red flag for Instagram…The cover is a shot of a hash hole, and when you open it, you dive into the trichomes.”
They’ll launch 4MAG in Berlin during the Mary Jane Festival, with more issues released on their own timeline. “We don’t have a timing for the next launch. It’s going to be when we have ready our content… then we launch magazine.”
It’s a philosophy grounded in passion, purpose, and an unshakable respect for the plant. “One thing I like to do is going in nights when everything is calm… the house don’t move the vibration, the house,” Cardozo says with a smile. “You need to be blend with the plant.”
Read all about Matca Films online and in print in Honeysuckle's 22 print edition!
