The Chris Holter Legacy Awards are administered by The Metro Theater Center Foundation thanks to the generous gifts of the family and friends of Chris Holter, a co-founder of the foundation, The Ora A. Holter Family Trust and the Chris Holter-Ron Merk Family Fund.

After graduating from U.C. Davis in 1973, Chris joined the V.I.S.T.A. program and organized youth centers Iowa where his lifelong interest in the education of young people began. Returning to the Bay Area, he taught high school math and in San Francisco.

In 1980 he and his partner, Ron Merk, moved to Los Angeles where Chris became involved in the motion picture industry with Ron. In 2001, "Marco Polo - Return to Xanadu," an animated feature project that Chris produced, co-wrote the screenplay and song lyrics, qualified for the first-ever Best Animated Feature Academy Award, and was later released by Warner Bros. In 2003 he returned to San Francisco where he was active in politics and the arts, including Film Arts Foundation, film festivals and educational programs.

Diagnosed with melanoma cancer in November of 2003, Chris continued to live one day at a time, always positive and looking toward the future. Before untimely his death on December 27th, 2004, Chris asked his partner, Ron Merk, to establish a number of awards and grants in his name to continue his life's work. The aim of Chris Holter Legacy Awards is to encourage, finance and support the efforts of both young and first-time filmmakers, creating films and videos with unique and important statements about their lives and the world we all inhabit together.

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