(Santa Fe, NM) Cinematic Arts and Technology Department Chair James Lujan (Taos Pueblo) has announced that Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho) has been engaged as the Outreach Consultant for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). As part of his duties Eyre will work with Lujan to focus on strengthening the support of the IAIA Cinematic Arts Department in the film community, developing internships, recruiting students, and seeking other resources that will enhance the program’s success.

Chris Eyre

Eyre has already mentored two IAIA students who participated in the 2017 Sundance Institute’s Ignite Program, which provides an opportunity for college-age, aspiring filmmakers to experience the legendary Sundance Film Festival.

Eyre is an award-winning director and producer of film, television, and other media, directing or producing over 15 feature films. He has also worked in directing episodic television, documentaries, and commercial advertising.

Eyre’s expertise in producing and directing media content centers around his love of storytelling and humanity. His first film was the Sundance Film Festival and Miramax Films Smoke Signals (1998). Smoke Signals was noted as the first feature film written, directed and produced by Native Americans to receive a national theatrical release. Smoke Signals earned Eyre many prestigious awards including the Sundance Film Festivals’ “Audience Award” and the Sundance Film Festival’s “Filmmaker’s Trophy.”

Eyre’s second film, Skins (2002) earned its star Graham Green many awards, and People Magazine called Eyre “the pre-eminent Native American filmmaker of his time.” Roger Ebert’s review stated, “Skins has one of the most haunting endings he has seen. Two-Thumbs Up!”

In 2012, Eyre became the Chair of The Film School at Santa Fe University of Art and Design in Santa Fe, N.M. After re-designing and growing student enrollment at the university, he resigned in 2016 to pursue filmmaking on a full-time basis once again.

Alongside Terrance Malick and Natalie Portman, Eyre served as executive producer for the documentary feature film, The Seventh Fire (2016). The Seventh Fire premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and he was invited to screen the film at The White House (March 2016). The Seventh Fire opened in New York City, Los Angeles, and other cities around the country in July 2016.

Eyre serves on advisory boards for the Governor’s Council on Film and Television for the state of New Mexico, the Greater Santa Fe Film Commission and the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival. He has served on numerous film festival juries including the Sundance Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and VisonMaker Media Film Festival.

Eyre holds an MFA from New York University and a BFA from the University of Arizona.