Chris Eyre Movies

Up Heartbreak Hill chronicles the senior year of two Navajo high-school students in New Mexico. One, a rebellious cross-country runner named Thomas, hopes to win a scholarship and attend college, then return to and help improve the Navajo Nation. The other, fellow runner and valedictorian contender Tamara, has her heart set on a college out of state, though her parents would prefer she stick closer to home. ~ Jeff Gemmill, Rovi

A top L.A. talk show host of Pomo Indian heritage reluctantly returns to the reservation in order to help his people fend off a predatory casino investor while being faced with an extremely difficult dilemma in this drama inspired by real-life events. Nick Thomas left the reservation a long time ago. He never intended to come back, and eventually rose to fame with a popular radio talk show. But now a shifty financier is seeks to construct a casino on Pomo land, and the tribe members must choose between taking a lump sum payment up front, and investing on a long-term basis. When Nick's brother Chi and tribal leader Rich reach out to the prominent radio host for help, the time comes for him to embrace his heritage, and help his people in their time of need. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

"Tecumseh's Vision" recalls Shawnee brothers Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh. In 1805, Tenskwatawa -- considered a prophet -- had a vision that Indians should reject white culture. Tecumseh, in turn, led an alliance of tribes to stop the whites' westward push, as well as a partnership with the British during the War of 1812. The coalition he had forged, however, fell apart following his death in 1813 during the Battle of the Thames. ~ Jeff Gemmill, Rovi

Critically acclaimed Native American filmmaker Chris Eyre (Smoke Signals, A Thief of Time) presents the supernatural thriller Imprint, directed by Michael Linn. The film tells the story of Shayla Stonefeather (Tonantzin Carmelo), a North American Indian attorney who once fled her cultural background and shunned the spiritual practices of her ancestors. After successfully prosecuting a Lakota boy in a difficult murder trial, Shayla now returns to her family's South Dakota reservation for the first time in many years, to tend to her dying father. Events take a dark and eerie turn when she is greeting by spirits that present foreboding and unwanted visions, forcing Shayla to reconsider her tribe's beliefs and way of life. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

This adaptation of Tony Hillerman's A Thief of Time keeps that book's original storyline. The protagonists Joe Leaphorn (Wes Studi) and Jim Chee (Adam Beach) are a pair of Navajo police officers whose beat is their reservation. They must investigate why some important historical artifacts have gone missing. This film was directed by Chris Eyre and produced by Robert Redford. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Adapted from Tony Hillerman's best-selling novel by James Redford (stepson of Robert Redford), Skinwalkers was the vanguard of the proposed PBS anthology American Mystery. Returning to the Navajo reservation of his birth after many years, police detective Joe Leaphorn (Wes Studi) investigates a series of bizarre murders. Though Leaphorn has no doubt that the killer is a human being, his young FBI-trained partner, Jim Chee (Adam Beach), has an entirely different theory. A medicine man-in-training, Chee believes that the murders have been committed by a mystical figure called the Skinwalker, who according to Navajo legend is an amalgam of all murdered Native Americans. Symbolic clues left at the scene of each murder -- some written in paint, some in blood -- confirm Chee's conclusion that the shapeshifting Skinwalker is seeking revenge on the modern-day despoilers of the Navajo's sacred land. Skinwalkers was filmed on location in Utah and Arizona by Native American director Chris Eyre, of Smoke Signals fame. ~ Rovi

This dramatic feature was written, directed, and co-produced by Native Americans. Native American writer Sherman Alexie scripted this adaptation of his 1993 short story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Director Chris Eyre's previous short Someone Kept Saying Powwow is incorporated into the 88-minute feature. Developed at the Sundance Lab in 1995, the film was a winner of both the Audience Award and the Filmmakers' Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. In 1976, an infant survives a fire that kills his parents. In a flash forward to the present day, the infant has grown up to become the skinny, nerdy adult Thomas (Evan Adams). At Idaho's desolate Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation, the overeager youth is mostly ignored by others, including stoic athletic Victor Joseph (Adam Beach), even though it was Victor's father, alcoholic Arnold Joseph (Gary Farmer), who saved the infant Thomas' life in the fire. A drunken Arnold later abandoned his family, and Victor hasn't seen his father in a decade. When Victor learns of Arnold's death in Phoenix, Thomas offers to pay for the trip to Phoenix if he can accompany Victor. They make an odd couple since Victor is embarrassed by Thomas' geekiness. In Phoenix, they find that Arnold lived in a small trailer in the desert, and they meet Arnold's friend Suzy Song (Irene Bedard), who provides disturbing truths about Arnold that impact on Victor. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi