Governor Richardson Announces New Visions/New Mexico Contract Awardees
Twelve New Mexico-based film/media projects receive contracts ranging from $6,000 to $20,000
Contact: New Mexico Film Office (505) 827-9810SANTA FE, December 14 - Governor Bill Richardson today announced the recipients of the New Visions/New Mexico Contract Awards. In its inaugural year, the program is providing twelve contracts totaling $160,000 for New Mexico-based producers and directors to create narrative films, documentaries, animation and experimental works.
“The state benefits by the jobs, training, and education these projects will provide,” said Governor Richardson. “As importantly, this further demonstrates the state’s commitment to our own talent. In conjunction with the New Mexico Filmmakers program, New Visions will help get the voices of New Mexico filmmakers heard throughout the world.” Awardees will provide a service to the state as part of their contract, such as training other New Mexicans who are new to the industry, providing free in-state screenings, workshops and seminars, and conducting outreach to high school students interested in pursuing film/media careers. “Local filmmakers are critical to the continued success of this business in the state. The New Visions program is the next step in our long-term strategy to establish a strong production and training base,” said Eric Witt, the governor’s Director of Media Industries Development. “The awards not only enable the telling of many incredible stories, they also support our home talent and engage them in the ongoing expansion of a statewide film and media community.” Film Office Director Lisa Strout acknowledged the 230 entrants who submitted proposals, noting the high quality projects taking place throughout the state. “We encourage everyone to pursue their visions, and take advantage of the state’s tax incentives and training programs,” she said. “We will continue the New Visions program in 2007, and provide more opportunities for New Mexicans to bring their stories to life.” The Awardees Are: NARRATIVE FILMS Ilana Lapid of Las Cruces, $15,000 toward the short film RED MESA. Set on a cattle ranch in southern New Mexico, RED MESA is a coming-of-age story in which a young woman comes face to face with the painful realities of the border. Matthew Linnell of Albuquerque, $15,000 toward the short film UNCOVERED. The film is about a wealthy Anglo family and a newly-arrived Mexican immigrant family, coming to terms with their mutual dependence upon, and fear of, each other. Nancy Holley Hughes and Eileen Oliveri Torpey of Santa Fe, $15,000 to develop THE RESURRECTION OF HONORE PAGE: BLACK COWGIRL. The film follows the journey of Black minister Honore Page as she regains her faith and traces the voice of her Cherokee grandmother to a ghost town in southeastern New Mexico. DOCUMENTARIES Debra Anderson of Santa Fe, $10,000 toward SPLIT ESTATE, about the oil and gas boom in the western U.S. and its effects on the land and people of the Rocky Mountains. Lena Carr of Albuquerque, $15,000 toward ONE BOY, ONE SKY. Guided by his Navajo grandmother, a young boy engages in a search for his Navajo heritage and identity. David Ellis of Santa Fe, $10,000 toward RUDOLFO ANAYA: THE MAGIC OF WORDS. The cherished seventy-year-old master of New Mexico storytelling is the subject of a one-hour documentary. Rafael Hernandez of Espanola, $14,500 toward ABSENT FATHERS REVISITED, an examination of the ups and downs of growing up without a father. Jonathan Sims of Acoma Pueblo, $20,000 toward A RACE AGAINST TIME, about the race to preserve native languages within tribal communities in New Mexico. Eric Sirotkin of Albuquerque, $14,500 toward the completion and distribution of COMMITTING POETRY IN TIMES OF WAR. The film is a glance at one week in 2003 which rocked Albuquerque and defined the struggle of a nation at war. EXPERIMENTAL Nina Fonoroff of Albuquerque, $6,000 toward SOME ENCHANTED MOMENT, an experimental film drawing together New Mexico landscapes, animated collage elements and super-8 film from the 1970’s. Chris Jonas of Santa Fe, $10,000 toward MEMORYLINES, the video component of a larger community-dialogue project designed to bridge cultural, economic and generational boundaries through an exploration of collective memory. ANIMATION David Stout and Cory Metcalf of Santa Fe, $15,000 toward ARCHIPELAGO, an interactive 3-D animation and cinematic installation, using digitally modeled eco-systems inhabited by artificially intelligent organisms. The selection panel for New Visions/New Mexico was made up of a diverse group of filmmakers and professionals: Lester Berman, currently producer of the New Mexico-based production WILDFIRE and an accomplished visual artist. Kathleen Broyles, Coordinator of The Film Lab, part of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute. Brad Carvey, Emmy award-winning engineer and master of visual effects for film and television. Eduardo Diaz, Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) in Albuquerque. Bryan Konefsky, a self-taught media artist and cultural worker, and founder of the media festival Experiments in Cinema. Beverly Morris (Aleut) is an independent documentary filmmaker and the Project Director of the Institute of American Indian Arts Summer Television and Film Workshop. Lisa Strout has worked in the film industry in many capacities for over twenty years, and is currently the Director of the New Mexico Film Office.
