DigiFest SouthWest selects seven short scripts (11 pages), flies in the winners, and supply them everything they need with no out of pocket costs for the winners. Winners have seven days to shoot/edit films, and all are screened on the seventh night.
The sixth annual Santa Fe Film Festival’s bowed this year with new partnerships, a new focus on international screenings with a decidedly American film as its centerpiece gala. 220 films screened out of 900 submissions from nearly 40 nations, including this years “Best of Fest” Award winner “The Syrian Bride,” by Eran Riklis.The five-day festival ran from Dec. 7-11, presenting films in 11 different venues and attracting 6,000-plus patrons.The festival partnered this year with the Natio...
Filmfestivals.com contributor, local reporter and occasional blogger Gene Grant (www.genegrant.com/blog) announced his intentions to watch the entirety of the "New Mexico Filmmakers' Week," at the Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave. in Nob Hill, from Friday, June 24th to Thursday, June 30th, front to back.The event is presented by the New Mexico Film Office (www.nmfilm.com) and will feature 47 hours of both shorts and features. All the films are made by New Mexicans and the event is free."This is go...
Gene Grant had the very good fortune to produce “Something Red,” by Scotty Milder, one of the films that will premiere at The DigiFest SouthWest Film Festival .Below are some pictures from the shoot and his comments. It was my first lap producing a film, and I’ll share the hairy details later, but know it was a complete blast. We filmed in Cochiti for a day, and for two days in Budville (just east of Grants), and the last day here in the ABQ. I’d love it if ya’ll come out for the show...
As recently as four years ago, the New Mexico film festival marketplace featured a slug fest between the long running Taos Talking Picture Festival (TTPIX) and the upstart Santa Fe Film Festival (SFFF). Both possessed a unique niche, mountain town settings, and devoted audiences. For indie film festival freaks in the area, life was good. Alas, things never stay the same for long in this volatile business.Locals were stunned at the news last month that the nine year old Taos Talking Picture Festi...
How good does a movie have to be to be “relevant?” Is it the implied message, or the delivery system, the power of the story itself that makes or breaks it. The obvious answer, of course, is the story. No story, no characters that are interesting and relatable, then no relevance. Or so it goes.It’s a tried and true formula, be it from the biggest of studios to the tiniest of indie films shot on the run, but I witnessed an interesting twist on the premise this past week-end at the Santa Fe ...
