IAIA Professor Kahlil Hudson (Tlingit) Wins Two Emmy Awards For Documentary Wildland

SANTA FE, N.M. - September 27, 2019 - During the 40th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, as announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), honoring films distributed in 2018, Wildland, directed by Kahlil Hudson and Alex Jablonski, won two Emmy Awards: Outstanding Cinematography: Documentary and Outstanding Editing: Documentary. Wildland premiered nationwide on October 29, 2018 on acclaimed PBS documentary series, Independent Lens.

Wildland follows a firefighting crew as they struggle with fear, loyalty, love, and defeat over the course of a single wildfire season in this intimate story of a small group of men - their exterior world, their interior lives, and the fire that lies between.

Kahlil Hudson (Tlingit) is a filmmaker and commercial director. His films have screened at top international film festivals including Tribeca, South by Southwest, Hot Docs, IDFA, Camden, and True/False, and he received the Discovery Impact Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He is a professor in the Cinematic Arts & Technology department at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA).

Kahlil has directed and shot commercials for brands including Ram Trucks, Patagonia, Chevrolet, Jeep, Yeti, Carhartt, Porsche, REI, and Nike amongst many others.

He received an MFA in Film Directing from UCLA.

Cinematic Arts & Technology Chair James Lujan (Taos Pueblo) remarked "We couldn't be more proud of Kahlil. This is an amazing achievement. I believe the quality of faculty is reflection of the quality of the program, so having an Emmy-award winning instructor in IAIA's Cinematic Arts department is a major statement."

Offering undergraduate degrees in Studio Arts, Creative Writing, Cinematic Arts and Technology, Indigenous Liberal Studies, Museum Studies, and Performing Arts -- an MFA in Creative Writing -- along with certificates in Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, and Native American Art History -- IAIA is the only college in the nation dedicated to the study of contemporary Native arts. The school serves 495 full time equivalent (FTE) Native and non-Native American college students from across the globe. IAIA is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission -- and is the only college in New Mexico accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

About IAIA -- For over 50 years, the Institute of American Indian Arts has played a key role in the direction and shape of Native expression. With an internationally acclaimed college, museum, and tribal support resource through our Land Grant Programs, IAIA is dedicated to the study and advancement of Native arts and cultures -- and committed to student achievement and the preservation and progress of their communities. Learn more about IAIA and our mission at http://www.iaia.edu.