Charlie Buhler (born December 25) is an American director, photographer, and producer. She is best known for her directorial debut, ''

Before the Fire ''Before the Fire'' is a 2020 American thriller drama film directed by Charlie Buhler. ''Before the Fire'' received acclaim as a frightening and timely look at how individual lives are turned upside down by a global crisis. The feature had its w ...

'', a pandemic thriller that premiered in 2020 amid the COVID-19 crisis. Buhler's other notable work includes the documentary Rosebud and Eric Stoltz's feature film ''

Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk ''Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk'' is a 2017 film directed by Eric Stoltz, produced by Kenny Hughes and written by Tony DuShane, with the screenplay based on his own novel. Set in the mid-1980s in California, it is about a young Jehovah's Wit ...

'' where she played Jasmine. In 2008, Buhler was the first African American woman to be crowned

Miss South Dakota Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...

USA. She later represented South Dakota at the

Miss USA 2008 Miss USA 2008 was the 57th Miss USA pageant, held in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart of Texas was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder Rachel Smith of Tennessee. ...

pageant.

Life and career

Charlie Buhler was born on

Minot Air Force Base Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in 2 ...

Minot, North Dakota Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...

, to Darlene (Tinsley) Buhler and Carey Buhler. She is mixed race, and often cites her diverse background as a major source of inspiration for her work. She spent her childhood in

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, SD and

Mitchell, SD Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census making it the List of cities in South Dakota, sixth mos ...

, and then went on to study film and American politics at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, where she was the first African American woman to be elected class president. She graduated in 2010. In 2016, Buhler had a role in

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Support ...

's debut feature,

. A coming of age dramedy about young

Jehovah Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christian denomination with Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of appr ...

discovering sex, drugs and rock and roll in the 80's. She played Jasmine In 2020, she made her directorial debut with the pandemic thriller, ''

'', which she also produced. It starred Jenna Lyng Adams, Ryan Vigilant and Jackson Davis, and premiered in the midst of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

. The film made its world premiere at the

Cinequest The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is ...

Film Festival newsworthy due to its eery similarities to the ongoing crisis, and received positive reviews Buhler is also a documentarian and photographer. Her most notable work was the photography series, ''ROSEBUD'' which she shot over two years on the

Rosebud Rosebud may refer to: * Rose bud, the bud of a rose flower Arts * The name of Jerry Garcia's guitar from 1990 until his death in 1995. * In the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane'', the last words of Charles Foster Kane and an overall plot device. * "Ros ...

and Pine Ridge Indian Reservations in South Dakota. It was published in the

Photographic Journal The ''Journal of the Photographic Society'', later the Royal Photographic Society, was first published on 3 March 1853 and it has been published continuously ever since. The magazine's title was changed with volume 5 (1859) when it was renamed ' ...

in 2018.

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhler, Charlie Living people Film directors from North Dakota Year of birth missing (living people)