# Matthew Cassel — Journalist & documentary filmmaker > Independent documentary filmmaker and multimedia journalist Matthew Cassel — two decades of reporting on conflict, displacement and political upheaval for the BBC, The Guardian, The New York Times, Channel 4, VICE News, The New Yorker, Al Jazeera and others. Source: https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.app Generated: 2026-07-18T09:49:46.050Z This file is a single-document export of every page on the site, intended for ingestion by AI assistants and large language models (the [llms.txt](https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.app/llms.txt) standard). --- # Guardian — Matthew Cassel *2025 -* A selection of stories I have produced and reported focusing mainly on the conflict in the Middle East and other stories. ## Dispatches (7) ### Why Lebanon is divided over the war with Israel | On The Ground *15:50* Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continues and is deepening divisions across Lebanon. Supporters of Hezbollah call the group “the resistance” and see the conflict as existential. Watch: https://youtu.be/6BrCgcjtzks?si=vFa8oxutHM5p0Sml ### 'In Israel's eyes, we are terrorists' | In search of Palestine: episode 1 *2026 · 19:37* More than two years after Israel’s devastating war in Gaza began, the West Bank has become an increasingly volatile front in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Watch: https://youtu.be/NQdB9xPhBCo?si=JZEpgm-ghn_L-q4v ### 'Israel is promised only to the Jewish people' | In search of Palestine: episode 2 *18:39* In the second episode of a new series, reporter Matthew Cassel travels across the West Bank to document what daily life looks like under deepening Israeli occupation. Watch: https://youtu.be/s0j7UfTt5gw?si=dNsyzGCWPvHP-NiC ### 'Our Genocide': How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza? | *2025 · 15:33* Tel Aviv is known as Israel’s liberal capital; home to nearly half a million residents it’s also a holiday destination, with beaches, bars and nightclubs. But almost exactly 60km south is Gaza. Reporter Matthew Cassel speaks to Israelis in the city, to see what they think of the war, famine and genocide happening next door, and the growing international condemnation against it. Watch: https://youtu.be/nMyyVaiY4V8?si=jFew2KR8mbfe3Wkt ### ‘God gave us Israel, all of it’ | Along the Green Line: episode 1 *2025 · 16:26* Since the war in Gaza and the expanding occupation of the West Bank, a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians feels more distant than ever. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEiL_5h14pY ### Israel ‘must win every war’ | Along the Green Line: episode 2 *2025 · 16:54* In the second episode of Along the Green Line, reporter Matthew Cassel heads north to the occupied West Bank, visiting Tulkarm, a Palestinian city under siege by Israeli forces. Watch: https://youtu.be/4jfsqzoApnU?si=G91xMtGD_6lpU810 ### Gaza: ‘Clean it out then bring in something good’ | Along the Green Line: episode 3 *2025 · test · 16:42* In the third and final episode of Along the Green Line, reporter Matthew Cassel heads to the south of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43oZ0yUDG8E&t=820s --- # Home — Matthew Cassel URL: https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.app/ **Featured - The Guardian** ## Why Lebanon is divided over the war with Israel I travel to Lebanon to see how different communities view the idea of "resistance" as the war with Israel rages. - The Guardian - On the Ground - 2026 - Reporting from Lebanon Watch: https://youtu.be/6BrCgcjtzks?si=as1WZnwBmZRBBGiE ## Lead feature: Along the Green Line wins an Emmy *Guardian - 2025* Our Guardian series is awarded best continued long-form coverage at the 2026 News and Documentary Emmys Awards. Link: https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.apphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEiL_5h14pY ## More features ### 'Our Genocide': How do Israelis feel about the war in Gaza? *Guardian - 2025* Reporter Matthew Cassel speaks to Israelis in Tel Aviv to see what they think of the war, famine and condemnation against it — just 60km from Gaza. Link: https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.apphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMyyVaiY4V8 ### Settlements Above the Law *BBC - 2025* A year inside the West Bank's most violent settler outposts — winner of the Broadcast Investigation award at Amnesty UK's Media Awards 2025. Link: https://website-sigma-orpin-58.vercel.apphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxLDYkX7l9A --- # Settlements — Matthew Cassel *Investigation · BBC Eye* BBC Eye investigates extremist Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank using violence and "herding outposts" to seize land and property from Palestinians — a strategy supported by powerful organisations in Israel. - BBC Documentary · 60 minutes - Director: Matthew Cassel - Amnesty UK Media Award — Broadcast Investigation, 2025 ## Film Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxLDYkX7l9A Runtime: 60:00 ## The film From BBC: "Settlements above the Law", a new film from BBC Eye, investigates extremist Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank amid claims that they are increasingly using violence to seize land and property from Palestinians in the region. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the area has become increasingly violent since Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023. ​ Extremist Jewish settlers are establishing a new type of illegal settlement known as a “herding outpost”, giving them access to huge areas of land. These and other outposts don’t have government approval and are illegal under Israeli law. The BBC independently verified the location of 196 outposts established in the occupied West Bank, almost half of them built in the past five years. Documents seen by BBC Eye reveal that some of the settlers, who have established these herding outposts, have been supported by two powerful organisations in Israel. One of these organisations describes itself as “an arm of the Israeli state”. The BBC spent six months investigating extremist settlers who have set up herding outposts. Two of these settlers were recently sanctioned by the UK and US governments for forcing Palestinians from their homes as part of a “campaign of violence and intimidation”. Eyewitnesses give accounts to the BBC of how these extremist settlers have been able to seize more land for illegal outposts, often under the watch of the Israeli security forces. Elderly couple Ayesha and Nabil told BBC Eye that, just days after the attacks of 7 October 2023, they were driven from their home by an extremist settler who is now internationally sanctioned. In February 2024, the UK government sanctioned the settler for threatening, harassing and assaulting Palestinians in the Jordan Valley area – where Ayesha and Nabil lived. The sanctions mentioned that a community of 20 families were forced to flee after being attacked. In exclusive footage obtained by the BBC, an extremist settler candidly discusses how effective the strategy of establishing herding outposts is in seizing large areas of land. -- ## Credits - Director: Matthew Cassel - Cinematography: Matthew Cassel, Ayman Abu Ramouz - Producers: Emir Nader, Ziad Al-Qattan, Jake Tacchi - Editor: Bettina Waked - Award: Broadcast Investigation — Amnesty International UK Media Awards, 2025 ## Related ### Haredi Draft Refusal *The New York Times · 2025* For the first time in decades, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are being called to serve in the country's military. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLjUkGsMBVI ### The Israelis Protesting Gaza War *Channel 4 · 2024* In Israel, a small but growing minority has been critical of the army's renewed offensive since the ceasefire broke in March. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQdrgArUYwE ### They Came in the Dark *The New York Times · 2023* Since the Oct. 7 attacks, extremist settlers in the West Bank have displaced more than 1,000 Palestinians, according to the UN. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgKSWonPm0 --- # VICE — Matthew Cassel *On-air correspondent · VICE News (2020–2023)* I reported as an on-air correspondent from more than a dozen countries. This is a selection of our news documentaries. - 2020 – 2023 - VICE News Tonight - Emmy · Outstanding Newscast, 2021 - Emmy nomination · Reporting from Armenia, 2020 ## Dispatches (17) ### The Start of Russia's War on Ukraine *Feb 2022 · Ukraine* Tags: war From the first moments Russia launched its war on Ukraine, my crew and I were in the capital Kyiv. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt6mtHEy444 ### Trapped on Europe's Borders *2021 · Belarus · Poland* Tags: migration, politics Thousands of refugees and migrants are trying to reach Poland while a geopolitical battle unfolds between Belarus and the European Union. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT3-3YJjF6A ### Lebanon Hospitals Face Closure *2021 · Lebanon* Tags: health, politics The collapse of Lebanon's economy is one of the worst ever recorded, and nowhere can it be felt more than in the ER of Beirut's main public hospital. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnIA2S2F0Y ### Rising Tensions in Northern Ireland *2021 · N. Ireland* Tags: politics Northern Ireland has seen some of its worst violence in years as a result of the UK's decision to leave the European Union. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1MHMjAppuE ### Inside Ukraine's Trenches *2021 · Ukraine* Tags: war The war in Eastern Ukraine has been going for seven years – and is unlikely to end anytime soon. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez_zvVZEbvw ### Denmark Wants Syrians to Go Home *2021 · Denmark* Tags: migration, politics Years after offering protection to Syrians fleeing war, the Scandinavian country is the first in Europe to say Syria is now safe for them to go back. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpkBKEPxze4 ### Life on the Fringes of Europe *2021 · Bosnia* Tags: migration We report from northern Bosnia where tens of thousands of refugees and migrants seeking better lives in the EU are trapped. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbZisu-GHdA ### Ten Years of Tunisia's Revolution *2021 · Tunisia* Tags: politics Are people in the North African country happy with the uprising ten years after it inspired similar events across the Arab World? Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdMTmh9ZMQ4 ### French Police Don't Want to Be Filmed *2020 · France* Tags: politics People in France are upset over a new bill that would make it illegal to film the police. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89ZqhmSe_xQ ### Belgium is Europe's Covid Leader *2020 · Belgium* Tags: health We report from Belgium, where the second wave of COVID-19 infections is the highest in Europe. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBVEu372lAg ### War for Nagorno-Karabakh *2020 · Nagorno-Karabakh* Tags: war We report from a region that Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at war over for more than 30 years. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw8WkEsHxmI ### Living Long on Ikaria Island *2020 · Greece* Tags: health Why does the Greek island of Ikaria have one of the longest life expectancies in the world? Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2t2AWaRo1g ### Fire in a Refugee Camp *2020 · Greece* Tags: migration What happens to tens of thousands of asylum seekers after a fire burned down their shelter on the Greek island of Lesvos? Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLbchWA6PeI ### Is Racism Systemic in France? *2020 · France* Tags: politics The French state says it doesn't see race, but activists say people of color are disproportionately targeted by the police. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK05Z0SLhJQ ### Protests in Belarus *2020 · Belarus* Tags: politics Despite a brutal crackdown, unprecedented demonstrations continue against President Alexander Lukashenko and his 26-year rule. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSnZp7_TM28 ### LGBT Rights in Poland *2020 · Poland* Tags: politics Polish President Duda is up for reelection and has made attacks on Poland's LGBT community a focus of his campaign. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g2IQoALZUA ### Lebanon's Economic Crisis *2019 · Lebanon* Tags: politics After months of economic crisis, Lebanon is on the brink of collapse as protesters continue to take to the streets. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHiuyUiUAp8 --- # The Missing — Matthew Cassel *ICRC × NBC Left Field · 2019* A five-episode series produced with the International Committee of the Red Cross and NBC Left Field. Directed by Matthew Cassel, the films were shot in five countries — Honduras, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Senegal, and Zimbabwe — and focus on the shattered lives of those left behind by people who disappeared on migration routes. - 5 × ~12 minutes · 2019 - International Committee of the Red Cross - NBC Left Field - Rory Peck Award nominee ## Film Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-UjkKxmq0 Runtime: 02:30 ## A series about absence An unknown number of people go missing along migration routes year after year, with their locations never traced and their bodies never found. The five films seek to piece together each missing person's story through the words of loved ones left behind. "Migration is one of the most important issues of our time, and I hope to show that through personal stories of those who've been affected most: families of the missing," said Cassel. ## Credits - Director / Cinematographer / Producer: Matthew Cassel - Editor: Olivia Dehez - Series Producer: Ariel Rubin - Co-production: ICRC × NBC Left Field - Recognition: Rory Peck Award nomination, 2019 ## Episodes ### I. THE MISSING: Zimbabwe | She'd Never Leave Her Son Behind A mother in rural Zimbabwe whose daughter left seeking a better life in South Africa, and was never heard from again. *Zimbabwe · NBC Left Field* Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRxsqJonKCA ### II. THE MISSING: Honduras | A Young Man Seeking the American Dream A Honduran family searching for a son who set out for the United States, and was lost somewhere along the migrant trail north. *Honduras · NBC Left Field* Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEDx6BFLiH4 ### III. THE MISSING: Sri Lanka | A Family Fleeing on Boat to Australia A Sri Lankan family pinning their hopes on relatives who boarded a boat for Australia and vanished into the Indian Ocean. *Sri Lanka · NBC Left Field* Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUPn6-HE3J8 ### IV. THE MISSING: Senegal | Young Man Vanishes on Journey to Spain A Senegalese family waiting for word from a son who left for Spain in search of work, and was never heard from again. *Senegal · NBC Left Field* Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nebIDmwJFlg ### V. THE MISSING: Lebanon | A Family Pinning Hopes on Boat to Europe A family in Beirut who found tragedy on the waters of the Aegean Sea after relatives boarded a smuggler boat bound for Europe. *Lebanon · NBC Left Field* Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG5lMI9JVRY --- # The Journey — Matthew Cassel *Field of Vision · The New Yorker · 2016* For 31-year-old Aboud, seeking asylum in Europe is the only way the Syrian father can reunite with his wife and two children. I spent one year with him on a grueling and uncertain journey from Istanbul to the Netherlands, becoming one of the pioneers of the "Balkan route." - 6-part series · 2016 - Field of Vision · The New Yorker - Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Turkish, Greek, Arabic - Film of the Year · UN Global Migration Film Festival ## Film Watch: https://vimeo.com/183506732 Runtime: ~10:00 ## A year on the Balkan route Watch the entire six-part series with subtitles available in English, Spanish, French, Turkish, Greek, and Arabic. Aboud made four failed attempts to leave Turkey by land before risking the Aegean Sea in a rubber dinghy. From Athens, with his brother and a single mother and her two daughters in tow, he organized one of the first groups to pioneer the Balkans route without smugglers — walking for days, taking trains, illegal taxis, even bicycles, to reach final destinations in northern Europe. Aboud received asylum in the Netherlands; family reunification with Christine and the children was approved in December 2015. ## Credits - Directed, produced, filmed and co-edited by: Matthew Cassel - Edited and co-produced by: Olivia Dehez - Filmed in Syria by: Simone Safieh - Executive producers: Laura Poitras, AJ Schnack and Charlotte Cook - Award: Film of the Year · UN's Global Migration Film Festival ## Episodes ### I. The Journey — Part 1 In 2013, Aboud comes to Istanbul hoping to support his family in Damascus until the war ends. Unable to earn enough or to return home, he begins to look at Europe. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183506732 ### II. The Journey — Part 2 Four failed attempts to leave Turkey by land — twice to Bulgaria, twice to Greece — before Aboud decides to risk the Aegean Sea in a rubber dinghy. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183508516 ### III. The Journey — Part 3 "Greece is just a stopping point for the Syrians that make it here." Aboud and a group of 150 pioneer what will become the Balkan route. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183510464 ### IV. The Journey — Part 4 Days on foot, trains, illegal taxis, even bicycles. The group walks across borders that have not been walked across in living memory. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183513219 ### V. The Journey — Part 5 Aboud reaches the Netherlands and applies for family reunification. Months pass. In Damascus, Christine and the kids prepare to say goodbye. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183515245 ### VI. The Journey — Part 6 Reunion at Amsterdam airport after nearly three years apart. Months later we revisit Aboud and a Europe increasingly polarized over its million new asylum-seekers. *Field of Vision · The New Yorker* Watch: https://vimeo.com/183516266 --- # Shorts — Matthew Cassel *Short-form work* A selection of short documentaries and news reports that I have made either on my own or together with colleagues. ## Dispatches (15) ### Haredi Draft Refusal *2025 · The New York Times · NYT · 5 min* Tags: middle-east For the first time in decades, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel are being called to serve in the country's military. The community is furious, with protesters and military-age men openly defying the draft. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLjUkGsMBVI ### The Israelis Protesting Gaza War *2024 · Channel 4 · Channel 4 · 6 min* Tags: middle-east In Israel, a small but growing minority has been critical of the army's renewed offensive, since it broke the ceasefire in March. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQdrgArUYwE ### From Rebels to Police *2024 · The New York Times · NYT · 3 min* Tags: middle-east As the rebels who ousted Syria's longtime dictator, Bashar al-Assad, transition from insurgents to administrators, maintaining order in the streets of the capital has become a top priority. Watch: https://vimeo.com/1067374003 ### An Exile Returns to Syria *2024 · The New York Times · NYT · 4 min* Tags: middle-east In 2014, Sawsan Abou Zainedin left Syria during a civil war, while Bashar al-Assad was in power. Now, with rebel militants in control, she is working on the country's delicate political transformation. Watch: https://vimeo.com/1067373307 ### Searching for Syria's Disappeared *2024 · The New York Times · NYT · 4 min* Tags: middle-east Taher al-Zain's father disappeared 12 years ago at the height of Bashar al-Assad's regime. Now, like thousands of other Syrians, he is trying to find clues about what happened, and whether or not his father may still be alive. Watch: https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000009871973/syria-missing-disappeared-assad.html ### They Came in the Dark *2023 · The New York Times · NYT* Tags: middle-east Since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, extremist settlers in the West Bank have been emboldened, displacing more than 1,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Watch: https://youtu.be/GLgKSWonPm0?si=wTynhd0JAES5DNJ7 ### Pride of Palestine *2020 · BBC · BBC · 28 min* Tags: middle-east Abdul Kareem al-Selwady is preparing to retain his championship MMA belt, but to do so he must face a tough challenger from Brazil. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI6nVac1K4I ### Death of a Tunisian Poet *2019 · BBC · BBC · 8 min* Tags: middle-east Nidhal Gharibi took his life at the age of 32. His friends say his depression was exacerbated by Tunisia's political and economic situation. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YDyUkEBSKM ### Farming Under Fire in Gaza *2018 · The Intercept · The Intercept · 10 min* Tags: middle-east Palestinian farmworkers in the Gaza Strip toil the fields every day not knowing if it might be their last. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRQFvq0ePf8 ### Growing Up in Gaza in the Dark *2018 · NBC Left Field · NBC · 8 min* Tags: middle-east What's it like for a boy growing up under Israeli blockade in the Gaza Strip? Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_THm1WIWUlw ### A Bitter Eden *2017 · The New Yorker · The New Yorker · 6 min* Tags: middle-east In Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, Syrian refugees who fled the Islamic State are content working the fields, however nothing can replace home. Watch: https://vimeo.com/248951565?fl=pl&fe=sh ### Victims of Torture *2017 · Doctors Without Borders · MSF · 2 × 4 min* Tags: middle-east A two-episode mini-series for Doctors Without Borders on Syrian survivors of torture rebuilding their lives in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s_EUpyoRhI ### American Believers *2016 · Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera · 4 × 3 min* Tags: archive As part of special coverage for Al Jazeera English in the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections, I travel across the US to tell the stories of four people fighting for change. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tevl-F2-JoY/maxresdefault.jpg Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tevl-F2-JoY ### Helping Refugees in Macedonia *2015 · Al Jazeera · Al Jazeera · 6 min* Tags: europe Before the world took notice of the large numbers of refugees arriving to Europe, Macedonians like Gabriela Andreevska were doing what they could to support the weary travelers. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcGjYRLE7kE ### Inside Syriza *2015 · AJ+ · AJ+ · 3 × 3 min* Tags: europe, archive Greek activist Olga Baloura campaigns with comrades from the "Coalition of the Radical Left" Syriza party in the final days ahead of Greece's historic 2015 elections. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEnchLktCLQ --- # Identity — Matthew Cassel *Two-part documentary · Al Jazeera English · 2013* A two-part film for Al Jazeera English that focuses on journalist Matthew Cassel's story from Chicago's Jewish community to Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. - 2 parts · 1 hour 37 minutes · 2013 - Produced by Matthew Cassel - News Documentary of the Year — Monte Carlo TV Festival ## Film Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp5_mfgk2yg Runtime: 1:37:00 ## A film about the journalist, this time In the 19th and 20th centuries, millions of Jews migrated from Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia to the US — settling across the country's big cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. A growing number of Jews also migrated to Palestine at the turn of the century, part of a nascent Zionist movement. At the end of World War II, following the horrors of the holocaust, the state of Israel was created in what had previously been British-controlled Palestine. In the process, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes, exiled into neighboring countries and refugee camps. Al Jazeera's Matthew Cassel travels back to his native Chicago where he was raised Jewish. He talks to local rabbis, friends and family about why so many in the Jewish-American community believe it is important to maintain support for Israel — no matter what. And he travels back to Palestine to retrace his steps as a young man. At that time, during the second Intifada, he was shocked to discover the impact Israeli policies were having on Palestinians. He tries to understand how Jewish religious beliefs have turned into a political cause that he does not agree with — but that the US actively accepts and supports. ## Credits - Directed and filmed by: Marie-Hélène Carleton and Micah Garen - Produced by: Matthew Cassel - Edited by: Jacob Griswold - Executive Producer: Farid Barsoum - Award: News Documentary of the Year — Monte Carlo TV Festival ## Episodes ### Watch: https://youtu.be/1g4IJu1yz08?si=rFJd4LxvTU0sd15P --- # About — Matthew Cassel "If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera." — Lewis Wickes Hine Matthew Cassel is an independent visual journalist and documentary filmmaker based in the Mediterranean region. For more than two decades, his reporting has focused on people affected by conflict, displacement, and political upheaval across the Middle East and beyond. A pioneer in web-based video journalism, Cassel has long embraced emerging platforms and tools to reach digital audiences, with much of his work produced exclusively online. Since 2023, he has reported extensively from Israel/Palestine for The Guardian, The New York Times, Channel 4 News, BBC, and others. He created and reported The Guardian series Along the Green Line, which won an Emmy in 2026. He also directed and filmed the one-hour BBC documentary Settlements Above the Law, which won the Broadcast Investigation award at Amnesty International UK’s Media Awards in 2025. During this period, he also covered the war between Israel and Hezbollah from Lebanon and reported from Syria in the immediate aftermath of the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. Previously, Cassel spent four years as an on-air correspondent for VICE News, reporting from more than 20 countries in the network’s signature news-documentary style. His coverage included Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Lebanon’s economic collapse, mass protests in Belarus, the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and the Covid-19 crisis in Europe. In 2021, he was part of the VICE News Tonight team awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Newscast. His reporting from the war in Ukraine, and from Armenia during the 2020 war with Azerbaijan, was also nominated for Emmys. Before joining VICE, Cassel worked primarily as a one-person video journalist, filming, producing, and editing both short- and long-form documentaries for a range of outlets. In 2019, he created The Missing, a five-part series produced with the International Committee of the Red Cross and NBC Left Field, which followed the stories of five migrants who disappeared while searching for a better life. The series earned him a Rory Peck Award nomination. His 2016 series The Journey, commissioned by Field of Vision and The New Yorker, followed a Syrian family separated by war as they attempted to reunite in Europe. It won Film of the Year at the UN’s Global Migration Festival. His 2013 documentary Identity and Exile, which traces his personal path from Chicago to the Middle East, won News Documentary of the Year at the Monte Carlo TV Festival. From 2011 to 2014, Cassel was a journalist at Al Jazeera English in Doha. He later moved to Istanbul to help launch AJ+, a digital-first news platform within the Al Jazeera network. He is also the co-editor of Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution: Voices from Tunis to Damascus (Penguin, 2013), a collection of essays by writers from across the Arab world that received a PEN Award. From 2007 to 2011, Cassel lived in Beirut, Lebanon, where he worked as a freelance journalist and photographer. In 2006, he co-founded Picture Balata, a media school for youth from Balata refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. He interned with VII Photo Agency in Paris in 2005 and was selected for the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2006. In addition to his native English, Cassel is fluent in Arabic. His work has appeared in VICE News, The New Yorker, BBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, AJ+, The New York Times, Arte, NBC News, and many other outlets. ## Career - **2026** — Reported from Lebanon during Hizballah-Israel war for The Guardian - **2025** — Reporter and producer for "Along the Green Line" series The Guardian - **2024** — Director and cinematographer of "Settlements Above the Law" BBC - **2022** — Documented the start of Russia's war on Ukraine VICE News - **2021** — Reported from Nagorno-Karabakh during war between Armenia and Azerbaijan VICE News - **2019** — Created "The Missing" series NBC + ICRC - **2015-16** — Filmed and directed The Journey series Field of Vision × The New Yorker - **2014** — Helped launch AJ+Al Jazeera - **2013** — Reported and produced "Identity and Exile"Al Jazeera English - **2011** — Reported from the Egyptian revolution various outlets - **2008** — Photographed civil conflict in Lebanon various outlets - **2006** — Co-founder, Picture Balata media school, Balata refugee camp, occupied West Bank - **2005** — Interned with VII Photo Agency Paris - **2004** — First international photo commission from the West Bank NZZ - **2003** — First trip to Israel/Palestine student photographer ## Awards & recognition - **2026 — Emmy Award** (Best continued long-form coverage: Along the Green Line) - **2025 — Amnesty International UK Media Award** (Broadcast Investigation — Settlements Above the Law) - **2021 — Emmy Award** (Outstanding Newscast as part of the VICE News Tonight team) - **2020 — Emmy nomination** (Reporting from Armenia during the 2020 war with Azerbaijan) - **2019 — Rory Peck Award nomination** (The Missing (ICRC × NBC Left Field)) - **2016 — Film of the Year** (UN's Global Migration Film Festival — The Journey) - **2013 — News Documentary of the Year** (Monte Carlo TV Festival — Identity and Exile) - **2013 — Pen Award** (Co-editor, Diaries of an Unfinished Revolution (Penguin)) - **2006 — Eddie Adams Workshop** (Selected participant) ## Published & broadcast with The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, BBC, Channel 4, VICE News, NBC News, Al Jazeera English, AJ+, Arte ## Contact I’m always happy to hear from people who have story ideas, want to collaborate, or would like to share feedback on my work. - Email: matthewcassel@gmail.com