Dermot Tynan studied film in Northern California after emigrating from Galway in 1982. While at De Anza college, he wrote and directed the short film The Biscuit Eaters, and adapted the Walter Macken short story A Talk in the Dark for the screen. A Talk in the Dark went on to play in festivals in the US, the UK and Ireland. Michael Rose of Channel Four praised the film, stating it was finely directed, from a great script. He returned to Europe in the early nineties, and directed the short film The Lift in Suffolk in 1994, which played in festivals in Ireland.

Returning to Ireland, he formed the independent production company Claddagh Films and wrote directed his next film A Place in My Heart, which is just released and appearing in film festivals.

Most recently, he directed the short film Channel 31 from a script by Ken Armstrong.

Dermot is currently developing two feature film projects with an Irish writer.  The first, An Autumn Affair, is set in Belfast and tells the tender story of a recently-widowed Belfast woman and a chance encounter with a Spanish man in search of his wife. Packy’s Cousin is a romantic comedy, set in rural Ireland.