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Chris Hilleke

Chris Hilleke

Cinematographer and actor, also producer

Chris Hilleke is a filmmaker located in Birmingham, AL who's been making motion pictures in one way or another for almost two decades. As a die-hard independent he writes, edits, scores and directs but it's his cinematography that's kept food on the table and small budgets available for his own work. Over the years he's traveled the world shooting everything from corporate video, commercials, reality TV and focus groups to short and feature-length narrative and documentary films. Some of his more notable feature-length contributions of cinematography include the thriller, A Horrible Way to Die by longtime collaborator Adam Wingard, a sex comedy, Autoerotic by Joe Swanberg and, most recently, the HBO documentary Gideon's Army directed by Dawn Porter which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to win the Best Editing Award for US Documentaries. His corporate clients have included (to name only a few) Converse, Under Armour, John Deere, HBO and Mercedes-Benz and his work has been seen through conduits such as IFC, TLC, Food Network, HGTV, Netflix, Anchor Bay and HBO. He began making films to connect with those around him in a creative and enduring way and to eventually spend all his time making his own films to share. With each year he gets closer to living that dream. Between gigs as a DP he's managed to produce a slue of his own award-winning narrative and documentary short films including the 2009 Sidewalk Film Festival's Audience Choice Award Winner Some of What I Know About Tommy which follows a man struggling with Paranoid Schizophrenia in Hilleke's home neighborhood, Five Points South.

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Biography from IMDb.

Works as
Cinematographer and actor, also producer
Titles
11 on MovieCove · 19 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 38 days to Oct 27Up 8% in 30 days

What are Chris Hilleke's films like?

Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.

Genres

Documentary3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Documentary movies
Drama2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 15th percentile
: browse their Drama movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Survival
37%
Morality
23%
Society
16%
Self
7%
Power
7%
Ideas
7%
Bonds
3%
Survival3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 3

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 2

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 2

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 3 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 4

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 4 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
7
Absurd
4
Hopeful
3
Contemplative
2
Dread
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Unsettling4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy1
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous4

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 Hilleke's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Chris Hilleke'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

19 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page.

  • Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net(2022)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Third Saturday in October(2022)

    Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films

  • The Third Saturday in October Part V(2022)

    Cinematographer · Producer

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • The Immortal Jellyfish (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    First Assistant Camera

  • Whitmer Thomas: The Golden One(2020)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The Death of Dick Long(2019)

    Digital Imaging Technician · Second Assistant Camera

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • Sword of Trust(2019)

    Camera Operator

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • The Racial Politics of Abortion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Cinematographer

  • American Guinea Pig: The Song of Solomon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Cinematographer

  • Trapped(2016)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • The ABCs of Death(2012)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films

  • Gideon's Army(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • What Fun We Were Having: 4 Stories About Date Rape (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Assistant Camera

  • Autoerotic(2011)

    Lighting Technician · Actor

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • A Horrible Way to Die(2010)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films

  • Patton Oswalt: Werewolves and Lollipops (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Camera Operator

  • Don't Worry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Actor

  • The Girlfriend (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)

    Cinematographer

  • The Little One (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Cinematographer

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles from 2004 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Trapped (2016)

$63K worldwide

Highest rated

Gideon's Army (2013)

Midcredits 94th

Most popular right now

The ABCs of Death (2012)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting2 of 18: 1 only acting, 1 with another roleCinematography11 of 18: 11 only cinematography, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score21stOther crew6 of 18: 5 only other crew, 1 with another role

By decade

2000s4 · 1 acting · 3 crew2010s9 · 1 acting · 9 crew2020s5 · 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.

How do Chris Hilleke's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 54th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 23rd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

23rdpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

20thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 11 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th4
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 11 titles are Mixed.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Universally Panned1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser1
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · cinematographer

Trapped (2016)

82nd percentile spread · 19% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

Gideon's Army (2013)

Midcredits 94th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 49/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles; fans 61, detractors 27. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

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 Hilleke work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chris Hilleke's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Dawn Porter shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers

Producers