Carl Bird McLaughlin

Carl Bird McLaughlin grew up in Santa Clarita, California. As a child of two actors, he immediately answered a calling to perform, acting in school plays and making short movies with his family’s digital camcorder. He studied film directing at College of the Canyons, where he received the Filmmaker of the Year award two years in a row. He later attended CalArts for his undergraduate degree in the School of Film/Video. His work as an actor has played all over the world, including his starring role in David Nordstrom’s Sawdust City (2011), which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Carl worked as cinematographer and co-writer of LiTTLEROCK (2010), which won Best Screenplay at the Rhode Island Int’l Film Festival. His film Subsurface Flow (2014), has screened at numerous film festivals including Palm Springs International, Ottawa Film Festival, and Portland Film Festival, winning the Jury Award for Creative Achievement at the 2015 Arizona Int’l Film Festival. Human Sun (2018) which he wrote, directed, and starred in, premiered at Marfa Film Festival and screened at the Austin Film Festival. As technical faculty in the CalArts School of Theater, Carl directs the filmed scenes and monologues for the annual CalArts Actors Showcase.