New Mexico Filmmakers Experience
Each month, in partnership with the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) the Film Office will present a panel discussion on various aspects of New Mexico filmmaking. These panels will be the third Sunday of each month from 11 am to 1 pm and are free and open to the public. Additionally each month there will be screenings of significant films with Skype interviews and Q and A with the filmmakers. This will be a great opportunity for New Mexico filmmakers to get insights from other filmmakers from around the world. The following is a tentative schedule
Sunday February 17, 11 am -1 pm
In honor of Black History Month, a panel of local filmmakers will share their cultural perspective and filmmaking experiences as African-Americans.
Sunday March 17, 11 am -1 pm
Composing for Film. Panel discussion of film composers, what composing means for film, how it is done. Screening of films with and without a score.
Sunday March 24, 1 pm
"
Warrior Woman" screening. Q and A with director Julie Reichert: Tickets are free but limited. Get your's
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Alice survived cancer. She should be happy, but she’s not. Her marriage is on the rocks, her bank account is in the red zone, and vivid, disturbing dreams have begun to spill into her waking life with such intensity that she can barely tell what’s real. But she knows the bruise on her student Thuy’s face is real. To escape Thuy’s abusive husband, Alice and Thuy drive into the nighttime desert, destination unknown. When Alice’s decrepit car dies, the two are thrown into a world of unconventional women where Alice’s dreams force her to re-define what it means to be a woman and to find peace with her own mortality.
Sunday April 21, 11 am - 1 pm
What are teenage kids doing? A panel of middle and high school age film students talk about what they are learning and what they are producing.
Sunday April 28,
"Woven Stories" Q and A with Director Andrea Heckman: Tickets are limited but free. Get your's
hereWeaving in Northern New Mexico has joined three distinct cultures into a human tapestry with a common love of fiber and spirit of place. These traditions continue in the small communities of Mora, Taos, Tierra Amarilla, El Rito, Espanola, Truchas, and Chimayo, each one bringing a specific contribution to the art and practicality of fiber. This film was made possible by a NM New Visions Film Contract/Award.
Saturday May 18th 12:45pm - 3:30pm
Twin sisters – a prim, ambitious magazine editor (Carice van Houten, HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) and a warm, family-oriented housewife (real-life sibling Jelka van Houten) – travel to the American Southwest in search of the biological mother they've never met (Academy Award winner Holly Hunter). Finding her the worse for wear and living out of a battered RV, they drive their mother cross-state to a rehab center on a journey that will redefine the meaning of “family” for all of them. With beautiful cinematography, shot on location in the breathtaking desert landscapes of New Mexico, JACKIE is a fresh and heartwarming take on the classic American road movie.
Sunday May 19, 11 am - 1 pm
Native American New Mexico Filmmakers- get the unique perspective of Native American filmmakers in New Mexico. What does that mean? what are their experiences?
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Ramona Emerson - Moderator
Ramona Emerson (Navajo) is a filmmaker originally from Tohatchi, New Mexico. She received her degree in Media Arts in 1997 from the University of New Mexico (one of the first two graduates of the program) and has worked as a professional videographer, writer and editor for over thirteen years.
In May 2010, Ramona was selected for the Sundance Native Filmmakers Lab/Ford Foundation Fellowship with her screenplay “Opal.” Production of Opal was completed in January 2012 with the help of the Time/Warner Storyteller Fellowship and is starting its journey through film festivals. In 2012, Ramona and Reel Indian Pictures were funded for pre-production through Native American Public Telecommunications and the Public Media Fund for their newest documentary The Mayor of Shiprock. She is also a graduate of the 2013 CPB/PBS Producers Academy at WGBH Boston |
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Jason Asenap
Jason Asenap is a writer and director from Walters, OK, now living in Albuquerque, NM. He is influenced by art, music, and the southwest. Asenap was a 2011 Sundance Nativelab fellow. His latest project, “Rugged Guy”, is a short film that was workshopped at the Sundance Nativelab, and has been screening at film festivals around the country. |
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Socorro Gonzales
Socorro Gonzales, 23, was born in Santa Fe, NM but was raised in Stone Lake, WI on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation. She is part Tewa from San Ildefonso Pueblo and part Ojibwe from Lac Courte Oreilles. Since she was five years old, she traveled alone back and forth between the two states. She believes this helped her become more adventurous and more extroverted. Shortly after enrolling at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, she found her passion in film. Now a graduate from the school, she plans on continuing her education after she completes her second internship with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) this summer. She is pursuing a career as an editor and believes that graduate school will be a big step towards accomplishing her career goals. |
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Melissa Henry
Melissa Henry is an artist and filmmaker, and the 2013 Eric and Barbara Dobkin Native Artist Fellow at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe. Her latest film, “Run Red Walk,” premiered April 2011 at the Smithsonian National Museum American Indian Film + Video Festival and was awarded Best Short Subject at the 2011 Les Prix Présence Autochtone in Montreal. Her previous film, “Horse You See,” won People's Choice at the first PBS Online Film Festival, was voted Best Children's Film at the 2009 Talking Circle Film Festival, and has been shown at the Smithsonian Institution, Autry National Center and UCLA Film and Television Archive, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, All Roads Film Project Santa Fe, and ImagineNative Film Festival, among others. Melissa's trilogy of Navajo animals will be completed with “A History of Navajo Wool: As Told by Baa Baa,” currently in pre-production. |
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Pierre Barrera
Pierre Barrera (Klamath/Lakota) is a Native American filmmaker and actor who was born and raised on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and now lives in the state of New Mexico. Pierre has directed six short films including The Burden Carriers and Whiskey Flats and has acted in many others such as In the Valley of Elah and Swing Vote. Pierre attended the Institute of American Indian Arts Film and Television Workshop in 2004. He received the ABC/Disney grant scholarship for writing “The Mystic”. Pierre was the National Geographic “All Roads” Director’s Mentor for the New Mexico Governor’s Cup Film Benito’s Gift. Film has always been a passion for Pierre and he wishes to make movies as long as he can. Pierre is now moving onto several projects including his first feature as director a documentary called Neon Buffalo: Indian Country’s Greatest Gamble. |
aturday June 15 12:30 pm
New Mexico Filmmakers Experience in partnership with the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts presents a screening of "Dead Man's Burden" with a Skype interview and Q & A with the director Jared Moshe afterwards. A limited number of free tickets are available for this screening but you must register. http://deadman.eventbrite.com/
As the Civil War winds down, Martha (Clare Bowen) and her husband Heck (David Call) struggle to make ends meet on the rural New Mexico frontier. When a mining company expresses interest in buying their land, Martha and Heck see their ticket to a better life … until a surprise guest complicates their plans. Filmed on location in Northern New Mexico, Jared Moshe’s film offers a throwback to the golden age of the American Western.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffHgH09vcp4
Sunday June 30, 11 am - 1 pm
What is the filmmaking experience from the Hispanic point of view. come listen to this eclectic panel of Hispanic New Mexico Filmmakers and hear what they have to say about their experiences making films in New Mexico.
Hispanic New Mexico Filmmakers
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Cynthia Jeannette Gomez - Moderator
Cynthia’s first documentary “Sin Casa: Homelessness in New Mexico” in 1997 -airing on PBS stations, KNME and KRWG. She is a producer of the award winning New Mexico documentary, Land Water People Time with creative team David Lindblom and Daniel Velario. Cynthia has produced and hosted KUNM Public Radio Programs including: the Public Affairs program, Colors of Justice; Voces Feministas and Spoken Word. In 2011, Cynthia became an artist in Residence at the New Mexico Hispanic Cultural Center’s Institute for Creativity, Consciousness and Community where she worked on her latest film “Without A Tribe” -supported through a 2011 Native American Public Telecommunications Research and Development Award. Cynthia received her Masters degree in Education from the University of New Mexico and is a member and multi year alumni of NALIP’s Latino Producers Academy and Media Market. |
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Diego Lopez
Diego Joaquin Lopez has been acting professionally since 2005, is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and has acted in several feature films including "Blaze You Out", Mc G's "Terminator: Salvation" and "Love Ranch" directed by Taylor Hackford starring Helen Mirren and Joe Pesci. Other credited titles include, "Spinners," "American Dream," "Living Hell (Organism)," and "Urban Justice" along side of Steven Seagal.
Lopez's pursued his love of film by graduating with honors from the University of New Mexico Media Arts Program in 2001. Based on his screenwriting, Mr. Lopez was accepted in the New Mexico Filmmakers Intensive program in 2007.
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Alisa Valdes
Alisa Valdes (formerly Valdes-Rodriguez) is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 14 books. She writes commercial women’s fiction, young adult novels and memoir. Alisa has a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University, is a Pulitzer-nominated, award-winning former staff writer for the Boston Globe and Los Angeles Times, was named the top essayist in the nation by SUNMAG, and is an Emmy-winning former TV reporter for WHDH-TV. Alisa has written and sold pilot scripts to Nickelodeon, NBC, and Lifetime Television. Alisa is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Valdes Entertainment Enterprises, LLC, which is developing her novels for film and TV. Alisa is a mom, and she lives in New Mexico, where she founded and is the director of the nonprofit organization, Latina Literary Initiative.
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Kara Sachs
Kara Sachs, a Director/Writer/Producer/Actor/Dancer, is a native New Mexican from Belen, of Hispanic and Native American decent. She spent 12 years in Los Angeles and 8 in New York in the film and theater industry. She Directed the award winning movie MILAGROS, Official Selection in 22 film festivals worldwide. Wrote and Directed FREEDOM, a timely piece about a soldier’s return home. Next came THE VISION and THERE GOES EINSTEIN which garnered social media attention. She is a New Visions Award Winner for her project KING 4 A DAY, a true story about a boy with autism who wins for homecoming king. She was nominated for a Golden Palm for her screenplay ON COMMON GROUND. Kara appeared as an actor in pilots, guest--‐starring on several well--known TV shows such as CHINA BEACH, SISTERS, BEVERLY HILLS 90201, AGAINST THE GRAIN with Ben Affleck, GREAT SCOTT! With Toby Maguire, THIS AIN’T BEBOP with Harvey Keitel. She has appeared in numerous national commercials and voice--overs including cartoon characters for Disney. |
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Conrad Gomez
Conrad E. Gomez is an emerging Hispanic writer whose script, "Sabino Days" made him a graduate of the NALIP Writers Lab of 2OO7. Gomez was born on his grandfather's ranch in the small cattle town of Roy, New Mexico. After graduating from high school, Gomez went to Vietnam to spend the "longest year" of his life serving under the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Navy Lt. Roger Staubach, and received a battlefield promotion. Gomez discovered writing at the University of New Mexico where one of his creative writing instructors was writer Rudolfo Anaya. ln addition to the screenplay "Sabino Days", Gomez has written "A Time for All Seasons" and "Death of the Night" which also include elements of his Hispanic southwest life experiences. Gomez has written for Hispanic Magazine.
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