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The state's $1
million dollar grant supporting NMFI's mission to bolster
above-the-line talent is the latest step in Governor Richardson's
bold film incentive programs," says Jonathan Wacks (Pow Wow Highway,
Crossroads/South Africa, producer of cult hit Repo Man), Chair of
the college's Moving Image Arts Department which offers NMFI.
State incentives, including a 25 percent state tax rebate on all
expenditures made in state, an interest-free New Mexican film loan
program and state-sponsored community college crew training
programs, have paved the way for New Mexico to become a major player
in the film and TV production business.
"The program aims to provide longevity for the state's filmmaking
boom by increasing the number of New Mexican filmmakers," adds NMFI
Director Diane Schneier Perrin.
While the NMFI is open to all qualified applicants, New Mexican
residents receive priority admission and are exclusively eligible
for college-sponsored tuition grants, which range from $2,000 to a
full scholarship.
"NMFI is set up to increase the number of New Mexican stories being
told," Schneier Perrin explains. "We hope to foster films that
reflect New Mexican culture, with its rich and unique stories,
perspectives, history and landscapes."
In its inaugural year, the program will admit up to 26 students,
with plans for future expansion. NMFI provides $10,000 to each
producer/director team towards the finance of their approved summer
production. Many more New Mexicans will benefit from NMFI, thanks to
the program's collaboration with state-sponsored below-the-line
training programs at Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) and Central
New Mexico Community College (CNM). "The NMFI program will link up
with the Film Tech Training Programs at SFCC and CNM to help train
crew," explains Central New Mexico Community College's Jim "Grubb"
Graebner. "In this way, NMFI benefits New Mexicans by generating
[local] movies and training crews at the same time."
NMFI faculty includes such industry professionals as celebrated
filmmaker Wacks, independent producer Schneier Perrin (Reversal of
Fortune, Convict Cowboy, Run For the Dream) and screenwriter Tom
Musca (Stand and Deliver, Tortilla Soup.) Visiting Hollywood
filmmakers and Moving Image Arts BA program faculty will offer
workshops and public events in their field of expertise to support
NMFI's comprehensive curriculum. Applicants must hold a bachelor's
degrees (in any field of study) or evidence significant film
industry experience.
NMFI will be housed in CSF's state-of-the-art Garson Communications
Center, adjacent to Garson Studios, the only commercial sound stages
owned and run by a higher education facility. North Country,
starring Dane Cook and Charlize Theron, Employee of the Month,
starring Jessica Simpson and the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old
Men were all filmed recently on Garson Studios stages. The College
of Santa Fe's Moving Image Arts is a nationally recognized
undergraduate program founded in 1989. With a faculty of Hollywood
professionals hailing from top film schools such as University of
California at Los Angles, New York University, American Film
Institute, and Cal Arts, both the undergraduate program and NMFI
offer an alternative to programs that are located in "the shadow of
Hollywood or New York," says Wacks.
"This department is full of filmmakers who wanted to return to the
passion of what we do," explains Wacks.
"The NMFI's intensive instructional format is set up to nurture
creativity, provide
extensive hands-on practical experience, and deliver professional
skills and the business acumen necessary to succeed in the film
industry," concludes Schneier Perrin. NMFI application forms can be
accessed on-line at www.nmfilmmaker.com or by calling (505)
473-6400.
College of Santa Fe
The College of Santa Fe is a private liberal arts college founded in
1874. CSF is guided by its Lasallian heritage in its mission to
provide and promote student centeredness, creativity, character,
culture, civic capacity and shared governance. For more
information visit
www.csf.edu. |
