Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramović has been redefining what art is for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her limits – and at times risking her life in the process – she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ THE ARTIST IS PRESENT follows the artist as she prepares for what may be the most important moment of her life: a major new retrospective of her work, taking place at The Museum of Modern Art. To be given a retrospective at one of the world’s premier museums is the most exhilarating sort of milestone. For Marina, it is far more: it is the chance to finally silence the question she has been hearing over and over again for four decades: “But why is this art?”

Akers is the Director and Cinematographer of MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ THE ARTIST IS PRESENT, a feature documentary about the legendary performance artist that will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and air on HBO in 2012. He was the cinematographer of the award winning documentary film LEMON, about the pioneering poet, three-time felon, and one-time Tony award winner Lemon Andersen. Akers produced and was the cinematographer of CIRCUS, a six-part documentary series that aired in November 2010 on PBS. Matthew was a producer and a camera operator on CARRIER, the 10-part Emmy Awardwinning PBS television series that premiered in April 2008. In addition, he has been the cinematographer of numerous other feature documentaries including the HBO documentaries, BACK IN THE HOOD: GANG WAR II, HEIR TO AN EXECUTION and ELAINE STRITCH: AT LIBERTY.