Tyrrell Shaffner
Tyrrell is a director who specializes threading the needle between drama, comedy, and romance. She moved around a lot as a child, living in four states and England before she was 13 years old. Always the tallest girl in school -- with frizzy hair and freckles -- she cracked jokes to survive her vagabond adolescence. As a filmmaker, she explores being an outsider from a female POV. Tyrrell moved to LA to attend USC. Her comedic undergraduate thesis film “Different” played at festivals around the globe and won the Rhode Island International Film Festival Grand Prize for Student Film. Tyrrell then worked as a staff director/producer for Oscar-winning Producer Rob Fried and his digital channel, Feeln (later acquired by Hallmark.) She served in the same role for Director Jon Chu ("Crazy Rich Asians") and his premium Google Channel, DS2DIO. A member of the PGA New Media Council, Tyrrell has since crafted hundreds of pieces of short form content for companies like Crypt TV, Alpine Labs, Lionsgate and Tongal. In 2020, Tyrrell received her MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA, where she was awarded the George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship in Comedy. She recently directed her first feature, "Katies’ Mom." Tyrrell co-wrote the comedy and raised the film’s budget via a crowd equity campaign. The film stars Dina Meyer ("All American") and Aaron Dominguez ("Only Murders in the Building.") “Katie’s Mom" premiered in July at 2023 Dances With Films Film Festival in Los Angeles, where it won the audience award for best feature. Playgirl calls "Katie's Mom" "raunchy, MILF-y fun" and it's currently available to watch on digital and on demand.
