Hi, I’m a filmmaker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I’ve been a cinematographer and directer my whole career, some years more one than the other. In 2017, I founded Booklight, a production company that works in the docu and narrative space as a platform to support my creative endeavors and better serve my clients. Big fan of wine, hiking, cats and dogs, self help books, comedy, and video games.

BIO

Indie Filmmaker Chris Newhard, a native of Pennsylvania, has worked across the continental USA, Central America, Africa, and Europe for the last 16 years. Grounded in fine arts, design, and drama club as a teen, his work tends to delve into the shadows of life and the conflicts of being human. As his career became more fluid, his work had to expand and contract, allowing him to work in the music industry as a music video director, working with artists like Sia, Maroon 5, Sirah, Train, Chevelle, Grayscale, Jessie J, American Authors, and many more. Over the course of his career, he has shot numerous documentaries, short films, and commercials.

His first documentary film, “Are You Lonely” (2012, 55 min), follows American folk band The End of America to the Adirondack mountains as they travel by canoe to a small island to write their album. Since college, Chris has had a camera in his hand and searches the world for frames of perfect imperfections. Thematically, his filmmaking style could be described as being both hopeful and authentic to the human experience with a sprinkle of anti-commercialism. His film school thesis, “Pearl” (2010, 20 min), explores falling in love while terminally ill, and kickstarted a career shining light on the darker themes in life

In 2013, after spending time in Africa working on a documentary feature about the Peace Train, South Africa’s first 500 voice multiracial band and youth choir in 1992 that toured the country by train during Apartheid, he traveled the US on tour with Grammy winning pop rock band Train.

In 2015, Chris worked with John Mckeever on Delco Proper (Comedy Central) for several years. This led to many collaborations over the years with Mckeever, including the TV pilot for Delco Proper, New Muscle, Dweck, Commercials, and in 2020, being a co-creator of Gilly and Keeves with Shane Gillis.

2023 saw the release of his latest short, “Self Tape” (25 min), which explores the intricacies and anxiety-inducing choices of auditioning in the modern acting industry. His most recent feature Documentary, “Little Empty Boxes” (2024), tears down the walls of the realities of battling dementia, and was co-directed alongside Max Lugavere.