Charlie Polinger Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Charlie Polinger
Directing
Biography
Charlie Polinger is an American writer and director. Polinger first emerged on the festival circuit with Fuck Me, Richard (2023), a 15-minute dark comedy short co-directed with Lucy McKendrick that premiered at SXSW Film Festival (2023) and screened at festivals including Seattle and Melbourne. Polinger’s breakthrough came with his first feature film, The Plague (2025), which he wrote and directed as a psychological drama-thriller. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and received widespread critical recognition. Polinger’s work on The Plague earned significant awards and nominations across major film festivals and critics’ associations. At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated in the Un Certain Regard category and for the Golden Camera. It also garnered nominations at the Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival (2025), was awarded the Grand Special Prize and Critics Award (Prix de la Critique) at the Deauville Film Festival (2025), and won the Breakthrough Director Award at the Denver Film Festival (2025). Additional recognition includes the Best International Feature at the Calgary International Film Festival (2025), an Austin Film Critics Association nomination for Best First Film, a New York Film Critics Online nomination for Best Debut Director, and further nominations from the Indiana Film Journalists Association (2025). The Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Awards (2025) honoured Polinger with Best Directorial Debut. In awards season extending into 2026, The Plague received nominations from the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a First Theatrical Feature Film, the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle Awards, and the Hawaii Film Critics Society for Best New Filmmaker.
Filmography Movies
Production
Good People
Overwhelmed by guilt after an intense affair, Emma returns home to her family hoping to reconnect with her husband.
Fuck Me, Richard
Recovering from a broken leg, a romance-obsessed loner finds herself swept up in a passionate long-distance love affair. Richard is perfect in every way, except that he may be a scammer.
Fuck Me, Richard
Recovering from a broken leg, a romance-obsessed loner finds herself swept up in a passionate long-distance love affair. Richard is perfect in every way, except that he may be a scammer.
Not Gay
College student Fred, wakes up totally hung over after having blacked out the night before. When his roommate, Jacob, brings him breakfast, revealing that Fred came out the night before, Fred goes back into denial, despite Jacob’s acceptance of Fred’s sexuality. Will Fred finally accept the truth about himself?
Not Gay
College student Fred, wakes up totally hung over after having blacked out the night before. When his roommate, Jacob, brings him breakfast, revealing that Fred came out the night before, Fred goes back into denial, despite Jacob’s acceptance of Fred’s sexuality. Will Fred finally accept the truth about himself?
Sauna
An anxious and ungainly teenage boy struggles against bullies, puberty, and his fears of mortality when his parents send him to a summer water polo camp.
Sauna
An anxious and ungainly teenage boy struggles against bullies, puberty, and his fears of mortality when his parents send him to a summer water polo camp.
Sauna
An anxious and ungainly teenage boy struggles against bullies, puberty, and his fears of mortality when his parents send him to a summer water polo camp.
A Place to Stay
Kansas City 1959: When Andy's boyfriend leaves, Andy goes on a trip to confront him and discovers his lover's double life.
The Plague
A socially awkward tween endures the ruthless hierarchy at a water polo camp, his anxiety spiraling into psychological turmoil over the summer.
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