Charles de Lauzirika — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Charles de Lauzirika, of Basque ancestry, grew up in La Crescenta, California. He attended Glendale College, where he served as entertainment editor for "In Focus", the college's weekly public-access TV show. He also contributed to the campus newspaper El Vaquero, earning multiple JACC student journalism awards as an editorial cartoonist, entertainment editor, and editor-in-chief. Lauzirika later attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he wrote and directed a fully funded 16mm sync-sound film in the CNTV 480 Advanced Production Workshop, graduating in 1994. While at USC, Lauzirika worked for companies like Lucasfilm Ltd., Lightstorm Entertainment, Warner Bros., and Scott Free Productions. As a story analyst for directors Ridley and Tony Scott, he was selected by Ridley Scott to produce elaborate DVD special editions of his films. Lauzirika's works have earned Video and DVD Premiere Awards, including a 2003 DVDX Award for the Alien Quadrilogy. He won four Saturn Awards: for Blade Runner (Best DVD Special Edition, 2008), Twin Peaks (Best Retro TV Release, 2008), the Alien Anthology (Best DVD Movie Collection, 2011), and Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery (Best Blu-ray TV Release, 2015). Lauzirika oversaw restorations and new cuts of films like Alien³, Legend, and Blade Runner: The Final Cut, blending new visual effects and scenes seamlessly with original footage. His work spans DVD/Blu-ray content for directors such as David Lynch, Sam Raimi, James Cameron, the Coen brothers, and Michael Bay. Notably, he directed the music video for Montell Jordan's "When You Get Home" (1998), featuring Billy Dee Williams. He produced the Alien Anthology Blu-ray release, creating new content and overseeing a sound mix for the Alien³ Special Edition, with actors like Sigourney Weaver and Charles Dance re-recording dialogue. By 2011, Lauzirika was producing Blu-ray editions for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Prometheus. Lauzirika made his feature directorial debut with the psychological thriller Crave, starring Josh Lawson, Emma Lung, Edward Furlong, and Ron Perlman. Premiering at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the film won the New Flesh Award for Best First Feature. It later screened at Fantastic Fest, where Lauzirika earned Best Director in the Next Wave competition. He also directed the short horror satire Love Bite, starring Carlee Baker and Cuyle Carvin, which premiered at the Sitges Film Festival. In 2023, he wrote and directed the short horror film Honk, starring Zach Galligan and Tyler Mane. Honk premiered at Sitges. The film continued its festival run for over a year, winning Best Short Film - Global at Morbido Film Fest, Best Horror Short at the Atlanta Horror Film Festival, a Special Jury Prize at the Rome International Film Festival, Best Director and Best Cinematography at the Buried Alive Film Festival, and most recently, Best Short - Drama at the Nevermore Film Festival. In May 2024, Lauzirika confirmed he had produced the six-part documentary Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland's Civil War for the home entertainment release of Alex Garland’s Civil War.