Marquette Welcomes Renowned American Indian Filmmaker Chris Eyre Award-winning director to present latest film as a part of American Indian celebration Released: Feb. 24, 2005 Chris Eyre, director of the widely acclaimed film Smoke Signals, will present his latest directorial venture A Thousand Roads on Thursday, March 3 at the Weasler Auditorium on the Marquette University campus at 5:00 p.m. Following the presentation of his film which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, Mr. Eyre will conduct a question and answer discussion as a part of Marquette's American Indian celebration. A Thousand Roads is a 40-minute narrative film that follows the lives of four contemporary Native Americans as they confront the crises that arise in a single day.  After his presentation at Marquette, Mr. Eyre's A Thousand Roads will be a signature film at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian where it will continue to screen indefinitely for the museum's estimated 4 million annual visitors. In addition to directing, Mr. Eyre, who is of Cheyenne and Arapaho decent, has acted in and produced films, television and theater that display portraits of contemporary American Indians.  He made his feature film directorial debut with the release of Smoke Signals.   In 2002 he helmed the critically acclaimed Skinwalkers, An American Mystery Special, for PBS, adapted from the best-selling Tony Hillerman novel of the same name, with Robert Redford as executive producer.  That same year, Eyre's crime-drama Skins appeared in theaters.  Mr. Eyre wrote and directed his first film, Tenacity, while attending the New York University Graduate Film School. His other films include Bringing It All Back Home, A Thief Of Time, and Edge of America, which was the opening night selection at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Mr. Eyre's film Smoke Signals will be shown on March 2 at 9:00 p.m. and March 3 at 8:00 p.m. in Varsity Theater at Marquette.  The showings are free and open to the public. Office of Public Affairs Contacts Anne Broeker Senior Media Relations Specialist Phone: (414) 288-0286 Send e-mail