Chris Eyre
Encyclopedia
Chris Eyre an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
, is a film director and producer.
His films focus on all aspects of contemporary Native American
life, while dispelling the usual stereotypes. Eyre's debut film, Smoke Signals
(1998), won the coveted Sundance Film Festival
Filmmakers Trophy and the Audience Award. It also won "Best Film" honors at the 1998 American Indian Film Festival
.
Eyre's strengths as a filmmaker shows in his subsequent work. Skins
is a gritty tale of two brothers on the Pine Ridge Reservation—one is a tribal cop and the other is a Vietnam vet battling alcohol and emotional problems. Eyre has also directed two episodes of the famed PBS
series Mystery!
; A Thief of Time and Skinwalkers
starring Adam Beach
as Jim Chee, and Wes Studi
as Joe Leaphorn. Both were executive produced by Robert Redford
and based on the best selling Tony Hillerman
novels. Skinwalkers revolves around the mystery of skinwalkers
or shape-shifters
, and the murders of several medicine men. A Thief of Time is a who-dunnit that intertwines very competitive anthropologists, possible artifact thievery, a missing professor, and the legend of the Anasazi.
Eyre's Edge of America was the 2004 Sundance Film Festival "opening night" film. Edge of America is loosely based on the true story of a black English teacher who goes to the Three Nations Reservation to teach, but ends up coaching the very underachieving girls basketball team and takes them all the way to the state finals. In the process, he learns as much about their culture and race relations in America as much as they learn about winning and self-esteem. On January 29, 2006, Eyre won the DGA
's award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for Edge of America, becoming the first Native American to win the award.
Eyre's short film, A Thousand Roads, the "signature film" for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
, opened in Washington D.C. April 10, 2005, for an unlimited and exclusive engagement. It is a contemporary film, following four American Indians in different locations, as they each confront everyday events.
Chris Eyre was named a 2007 USA Rockefeller Foundation Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists
, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists.
In 2008 Eyre directed the first three episodes of We Shall Remain, a ground breaking mini-series that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history from PBS's acclaimed history series American Experience
.
Eyre is directing a new film A Year in Mooring, due out in 2011. The film's cast includes Josh Lucas
and Ayelet Zurer
.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes are a united, federally recognized tribe of Southern Arapaho and Southern Cheyenne people in western Oklahoma.-History:...
, is a film director and producer.
His films focus on all aspects of contemporary Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
life, while dispelling the usual stereotypes. Eyre's debut film, Smoke Signals
Smoke Signals (film)
Smoke Signals is an independent film directed and co-produced by Chris Eyre and with a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on the short story "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" from his book Lone Ranger and Tonto: Fistfight in Heaven. It won several awards and accolades, and was...
(1998), won the coveted Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Filmmakers Trophy and the Audience Award. It also won "Best Film" honors at the 1998 American Indian Film Festival
American Indian Film Festival
The American Indian Film Festival is an annual non-profit film festival in San Francisco. It is the world's oldest venue dedicated to Native American films and prepared the way for the 1979 formation of the American Indian Film Institute....
.
Eyre's strengths as a filmmaker shows in his subsequent work. Skins
Skins (film)
Skins is a 2002 feature film by Chris Eyre and based upon the novel of the same name by Adrian C. Louis. The film is set on the fictional Beaver Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota near the Nebraska border, a place very much like the actual Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the setting in the...
is a gritty tale of two brothers on the Pine Ridge Reservation—one is a tribal cop and the other is a Vietnam vet battling alcohol and emotional problems. Eyre has also directed two episodes of the famed PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series Mystery!
Mystery!
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
; A Thief of Time and Skinwalkers
Skinwalkers (2002 film)
Skinwalkers is a 2002 mystery television film based on the novel by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It starred Adam Beach as Jim Chee and Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn...
starring Adam Beach
Adam Beach
Adam Ruebin Beach is a Canadian Saulteaux actor.He is best known for his roles as Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger, Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt, Marine Private First Class Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers, Private Ben Yazzie in Windtalkers, Dr...
as Jim Chee, and Wes Studi
Wes Studi
Wesley "Wes" Studi is a Cherokee actor, who has earned notability for his portrayal of Native Americans in film. He has appeared in well-received Academy Award-winning films, such as Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves, Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans, the award-winning Geronimo: An...
as Joe Leaphorn. Both were executive produced by Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
and based on the best selling Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman
Tony Hillerman was an award-winning American author of detective novels and non-fiction works best known for his Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels...
novels. Skinwalkers revolves around the mystery of skinwalkers
Skin-walker
Skin-walker and Skinwalker may refer to:* Skin-walker, a human/animal shape-shifter from Native American legend.-Books and comics:* Skinwalkers , a 1986 mystery novel by Tony Hillerman....
or shape-shifters
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, and the murders of several medicine men. A Thief of Time is a who-dunnit that intertwines very competitive anthropologists, possible artifact thievery, a missing professor, and the legend of the Anasazi.
Eyre's Edge of America was the 2004 Sundance Film Festival "opening night" film. Edge of America is loosely based on the true story of a black English teacher who goes to the Three Nations Reservation to teach, but ends up coaching the very underachieving girls basketball team and takes them all the way to the state finals. In the process, he learns as much about their culture and race relations in America as much as they learn about winning and self-esteem. On January 29, 2006, Eyre won the DGA
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
's award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs for Edge of America, becoming the first Native American to win the award.
Eyre's short film, A Thousand Roads, the "signature film" for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
National Museum of the American Indian
The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum operated under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution that is dedicated to the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of the native Americans of the Western Hemisphere...
, opened in Washington D.C. April 10, 2005, for an unlimited and exclusive engagement. It is a contemporary film, following four American Indians in different locations, as they each confront everyday events.
Chris Eyre was named a 2007 USA Rockefeller Foundation Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists.
In 2008 Eyre directed the first three episodes of We Shall Remain, a ground breaking mini-series that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history from PBS's acclaimed history series American Experience
American Experience
American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
.
Eyre is directing a new film A Year in Mooring, due out in 2011. The film's cast includes Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
and Ayelet Zurer
Ayelet Zurer
Ayelet Zorer is an Israeli actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Nina’s Tragedies, Adam Resurrected, Munich, and Angels & Demons....
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Credited as | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director Film director A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:... |
Producer Film producer A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The... |
||
| 1998 | Smoke Signals Smoke Signals (film) Smoke Signals is an independent film directed and co-produced by Chris Eyre and with a screenplay by Sherman Alexie, based on the short story "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" from his book Lone Ranger and Tonto: Fistfight in Heaven. It won several awards and accolades, and was... |
||
| 2001 | The Doe Boy The Doe Boy The Doe Boy is a 2001 independent drama film written and directed by Randy Redroad. It was selected as the United States winner of the Sundance Film Festival/NHK International Filmmakers Award in 2000... |
||
| 2002 | Skins Skins (film) Skins is a 2002 feature film by Chris Eyre and based upon the novel of the same name by Adrian C. Louis. The film is set on the fictional Beaver Creek Indian Reservation in South Dakota near the Nebraska border, a place very much like the actual Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the setting in the... |
||
| Skinwalkers Skinwalkers (2002 film) Skinwalkers is a 2002 mystery television film based on the novel by Tony Hillerman, one of a series of mysteries set against contemporary Navajo life in the Southwest. It starred Adam Beach as Jim Chee and Wes Studi as Joe Leaphorn... |
|||
| 2003 | Edge of America | ||
| 2004 | A Thief of Time A Thief of Time A Thief of Time is the eighth novel by author Tony Hillerman.The plot involves the Anasazi, a missing archeologist, a stolen backhoe, and people who are termed "pot hunters".Characters include Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.... |
||
| 2005 | A Thousand Roads | ||
| 2007 | Imprint Imprint (film) Imprint is a 2007 independent drama/thriller film co-written and directed by Michael Linn and produced by Chris Eyre.-Awards and nominations:-External links:* *... |
||
| 2008 | After the Mayflower We Shall Remain (documentary) We Shall Remain is a five-part, 7.5 hour documentary series about the history of Native Americans spanning the 1600s to the 1900s. It was a collaborative effort with several different directors, writers and producers working on each episode, including directors Chris Eyre, Ric Burns and Stanley... |
||
| Tecumseh's Vision We Shall Remain (documentary) We Shall Remain is a five-part, 7.5 hour documentary series about the history of Native Americans spanning the 1600s to the 1900s. It was a collaborative effort with several different directors, writers and producers working on each episode, including directors Chris Eyre, Ric Burns and Stanley... |
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| Trail of Tears We Shall Remain (documentary) We Shall Remain is a five-part, 7.5 hour documentary series about the history of Native Americans spanning the 1600s to the 1900s. It was a collaborative effort with several different directors, writers and producers working on each episode, including directors Chris Eyre, Ric Burns and Stanley... |