Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor When Chris Eyre’s “Smoke Signals” won the audience prize in Sundance 25 years ago, the director thought the kudos would soon lead to a landslide of opportunities for Native talent.
Amid a flourishing independent film scene, the road trip dramedy won acclaim and awards as the first feature written, directed and produced by Native filmmakers.
But it took two decades, and a pivot to television, for Native voices to finally get a wider chance to be heard. More than two decades later, Eyre is now an executive producer and director on AMC+’s Navajo noir series “Dark Winds,” based on the Tony Hillerman mystery novels.
Longtime Hillerman fans Robert Redford and George R.R. Martin also serve as executive producers. “Dark Winds” premiered in 2022 as a wave of TV Westerns was proving massively popular, and yet, it’s very different from shows like “Yellowstone,” “Joe Pickett,” and “Justified” with its focus on a Native cast, crew and culture.
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