Charles-Cunliffe

Charles has been enjoying getting back into the arts after taking many years off to raise his family. A child actor in New York, singer-songwriter, jazz drummer and actor as a young man, he is back to acting and some new developments including screenwriting, producing and directing short films. The past years have been very busy with Charles producing, directing and or acting in several short films, writing two screenplays and producing and directing his first documentary.

In 2009 he worked briefly on two feature films, Splatter and the Sci Fi movie, Megafault. He produced and acted in the short film Doo Doo Unto Others, co-wrote and directed the short film Striking Out. In 2010 he wrote, directed and acted in the short film Hope & Change, directed the short film The Arbor Ate Em, co- wrote, directed and appeared in the short films Duck Tenders and Lunch in Grant Park as well as co-writing, directing, starring in and writing the original music for the short film Special Delivery.

He is enjoying learning something new about film making every day. last year he started to do some editing of his own work. The films Hope & Change, Duck Tenders, Lunch in Grant Park and a portion of the Great River Film Initiative's production The Arbor Ate Em, which he directed, were all at least partially edited by Charles. His first feature screenplay, Rolling Back the Clouds, won the award for excellence from the Iowa Motion Picture Association in 2010. He is working on a new feature script that he believes will be shootable in 2012. His directing debut in 2009, Striking Out, won an award in the 48 hour film competition for best acting and his 2011 entry, Special Delivery won an award for best use of genre.

Charles & Mary are working on a Documentary about the Lake Delhi Flood of 2010 and dam breach titled, We Will Be Back. A film about a way of life at risk now unless the lake is restored. Creative Maxims also teamed up with Tyler Breitbach on an award winning short called Sated. The film was an entry for the Canned Film Competition in February 2011 at Beloit International Film Festival and will be on the short film roster at BIFF in 2012. In 2011

Creative Maxims produced their latest short film-Damed, and won the Canned Film Competition in Dubuque with their black & white "film noir" piece. See short film tab above.