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Chris Eyre

Chris Eyre

Director, producer and actor · Born December 4, 1968 (57) · Portland, Oregon, USA

4 Sundance awards · Directors Guild Award winner

An enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, Chris Eyre gained national attention in 1998 with the movie Smoke Signals. People Magazine called him "the preeminent Native American filmmaker of his time."

Biography from TMDB.

Born
December 4, 1968 (57)
From
Portland, Oregon, USA
Works as
Director, producer and actor
Titles
17 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Up 65% in 30 days

What are Chris Eyre's films like?

Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Self.

What they feel like to watch

their average across 12 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 4 · Dark 5

Grounded 11 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Gentle 4 · Charged 7 · Intense 1

Steady 11 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 6 · Funny 0

Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0

A split, not a type: Casual 7 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Resolved 7 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Contemplative
10
Melancholic
6
Tense
4
Hopeful
5
Dread
2
Other
9

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet9
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Chris Eyre's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 17 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Chris Eyre's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

24 credits, 17 with a MovieCove page; 5 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning(2025)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Dark Winds(2022)

    Show 22 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all shows
  • How to Change Your Mind(2022)

    Show Producer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
  • Fourplay(2018)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
  • Memories of Miss O'Keeffe (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Director

  • Ishi's Return (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Director

  • The Seventh Fire(2015)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
  • California Indian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Producer

  • Hide Away(2011)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films
  • Up Heartbreak Hill(2011)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
  • We Shall Remain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

  • Imprint(2007)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
  • Friday Night Lights(2006)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
  • Arctic Son(2006)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
  • A Thousand Roads (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Director

  • A Thief of Time(2003)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
  • Edge of America(2004)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
  • Skinwalkers(2002)

    Director · as Tribal Judge Amadeus Pinto

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
  • Skins(2002)

    Director · Producer · as Cop

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
  • The Doe Boy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Producer

  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit(1999)

    Show 1 episode · Director

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
  • Smoke Signals(1998)

    Director · Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
  • American Experience(1988)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
  • Point of View (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)

    Show 1 episode · Executive Producer · Producer

Career shape

A full career of 20 titles from 1988 to 2025.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 20: 0 only acting, 2 with another roleDirecting15 of 20: 10 only directing, 5 with another role · typical Midcredits score79thProducing8 of 20: 5 only producing, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score72nd

20 titles, 5 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1980s2 · crew1990s2 · crew2000s9 · 2 acting · 9 crew2010s5 · crew2020s2 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

5 major awards from 6 major nominations, 1996–2006.

WinNomination
  1. 2006
    • Directors Guild Award, won · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs
  2. 1998
    • Sundance award, won ×2 · Dramatic
    • Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic
  3. 1996
    • Sundance award, won ×2

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Chris Eyre's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 12; across their 12 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 66th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Approval · how many liked their films

75thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Reach · how many have seen their films

42ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 12

Midcredits score across 17 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up10
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th1

Reviewers score the atmosphere 69/100 and the pacing 39/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Chris Eyre work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chris Eyre's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; BC Smith shares the most, 5.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers