Christopher J. Byrne is a director. A lifelong carpenter, he has also been a proud member of the Directors Guild of Canada for 25 years, the American Federation of Musicians as a composer for 20 years, and the Directors Guild of America for 6 years. Byrne holds an Honours degree in History from York University, where he initially trained to become a high school teacher. He began his film career with the Directors Guild of Canada as a Trainee Assistant Director on Norman Jewison’s The REZ, shot in northern Ontario. Within five years, he rose through the Canadian film industry ranks to become First Assistant Director on the Disney/Alliance Atlantis feature Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (Luxembourg, 1999).