Charlie Tyrell
Writing
Biography
Charlie Tyrell is a Canadian filmmaker whose documentary subjects have ranged from battle-tested pool sharks to members of the infamous Hells Angels which has screened at festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, Hot Docs, DOC NYC, Tribeca, and many more. Additionally, his work has been presented online on the New York Times’ Op-Docs platform as well as The Atlantic, Vimeo Staff Picks, CBC Gem, Short of the Week, and Topic. His autobiographical short, My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes, was shortlisted for the 2019 Academy Awards and won the Canadian Screen Award for best documentary short as well as the Cinema Eye Honors Award. His subsequent film, Broken Orchestra, screened at Sundance 2020 and won awards at the Florida Film Festival and the Philadelphia Film Festival. Recently, he completed work directing the Visual Segments for the upcoming HBO Documentary film Great Photo, Lovely Life from director Amanda Mustard. With I Thought I Told You To Shut Up!!, he investigates the value of original artistic properties vs. lucrative Hollywood franchises. Friends have described his work as “funny with a bit of sadness on the fringes” and he has taken an oath not to eat another hot dog until the Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series.
Known For
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
Documentary-drama recounting the Martian War of 1913–1917. Europe was on tenterhooks in the 2nd decade of the 20th century, everyone was expecting a Great War between the major European powers. But then, in 1913, something crashed into the forests of SW Germany. Troops were sent to investigate but were wiped out. Martian fighting machines began making their way across Western Europe and the countries of Europe combined forces to resist them. With aspects taken from ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells and from WWI itself, this dramatisation presents a documentary style look at events as they unfolded and the effect they had of our world today. Lots of references to real events including the mass attacks and defeats as men were thrown against machines on the Western front, the Christmas truce and the Angel of Mons, America's isolationism and late entry into the conflict, the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic that killed more people than the war, and many other things.
The Great Martian War 1913–1917
This documentary short tells the story of cartoonist David Boswell and his greatest creation: Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman. In the late '70s, David Boswell birthed Reid Fleming, a counterculture icon in the form of a comic book anti-hero. Fast forward to the '80s, Warner Brothers aimed for a Hollywood film. Today, three decades later, Reid Fleming remains stuck in a contractual quagmire. Jonathan Demme, Academy Award-Winner (The Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense), narrates "I Thought I Told You To Shut Up!!" This documentary blends stop-motion animation with interviews from Boswell, Hollywood cohorts, and fans, exploring the enduring allure of the indomitable Reid Fleming, the World's Toughest Milkman.
I Thought I Told You To Shut Up!!
A short documentary that follows director Charlie Tyrell as he tries to uncover a better understanding of his deceased father through the random objects he inherited. Including a pile of VHS dirty movies.
My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes
Charlie's antique car-collecting habit has become a problem. The neighbors are angry and his wife is sick of it. But Charlie is also an anonymous crusader in the fight to save the soul of his city. How does a society discern between a hoarder and a preservationist? With Charlie, it all depends whether you live next door.
Charlie's Lot
A documentary short about the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra where over 1500 left-for-dead instruments were repaired and returned to Philadelphia public schools.
Broken Orchestra
A man explores the relationship with his drifter father as he carries his body to its final resting place.
The Final Crazy
GO TO HELL! follows the triplet Leibowitz brothers as they return to their childhood home after the death of their parents. Angus, Berkley, and Calvin reminisce over their former childhood glory, despite their ongoing, daily embarrassment at the fact that they never fulfilled their potential. Now in a constant state of banal mediocrity, the brothers decide that the only way out is to burn any trace that they ever existed.