Santa Fe International Film Festival Puts Down Roots by Blending International Films, Local Talent

Over the last decade, companies like Netflix, NBCUniversal and Cinelease have committed an enormous amount of capital to filming in New Mexico. That development, along with attractive tax rebates from the state, has enabled Santa Fe to blossom into an enviable production hub.

The combination of that growth and a forward-thinking creative community has also helped generate a unique, on-the-rise energy to the Santa Fe International Film Festival, which in 2024 earned a place on Moviemaker Magazine’s list of “50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” for the second year in a row.

Nestled in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the festival offers up a rare mixture of natural beauty, professional networking opportunities for up-and-coming artists, and superbly curated programming. Returning for its 16th edition October 16-20, this year’s theme is identity and collective humanity — exploring what makes a person distinct while also binding them to one another.

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For festival Artistic Director Jacques Paisner, a three-term former Santa Fe Film Commissioner, his investment in SFIFF comes from a very personal place. “I grew up here, skateboarding downtown and sneaking into The Lensic, which is now one of the festival’s venues,” he says. “I studied philosophy at University of New Mexico and I was working with a group of independent filmmakers, including Gary Farmer.

“That was kind of the catalyst for the first fest, which we thought would be something small,” Paisner explains. “By the third year, it was the largest event of its kind in New Mexico.”

Now spread across six theaters (in addition to the Lensic, other venues include the historic Jean Cocteau Cinema, built in 1976 and owned by George R.R. Martin), this year’s festival features 25 films across nonfiction and narrative competition sections. Among this mix are the world premieres of the documentary “Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light,” about the pioneering modernist New Mexico artist, and the crime thriller “Laws of Man,” starring Harvey Keitel and Dermot Mulroney.

Opening night will feature director Malcolm Washington’s “The Piano Lesson,” fresh off its Telluride debut, followed by a special gala at SITE Santa Fe.

On Saturday, October 19, Bryan Cranston will be feted with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by a discussion with writer Kirk Ellis, and a screening of his 2015 film “Trumbo.”

Many of SFIFF’s other films of note, including Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door,” two Hong Sang-soo films (“A Traveler’s Needs” and “By the Stream”) and the Berlinale-topping documentary “No Other Land” speak to its mission of curating the best of international cinema.

An expanded selection of panels and seminars — including a moderated conversation with documentarians Kirby Dick and Jon Else — and over 130 short films round out the week. The Festival has additionally partnered with Variety

An expanded selection of panels and seminars — including a moderated conversation with documentarians Kirby Dick and Jon Else — and over 130 short films round out the week. The Festival has additionally partnered with Variety for the first time to present its 2024 Screenwriters to Watch, and will host the list’s honorees for a conversation about their work at a panel Oct. 18.

SFIFF is powered by an experienced and well-stocked advisory board which includes Wes Studi, Chris Eyre and Alexandria Bombach, among others. With a year-round mission that already funds scholarship programs and filmmaker grants, the Santa Fe Film Institute is modeling a trajectory which might remind some of the Sundance Institute. In fact, a writers’ workshop is already in the planning stages.

“The festival I think is a beautiful thing for this city,” said Paisner. “It’s a chance for creative moviegoers and movie people to all get in the same room with a glass of wine and pick each other’s brains and plan their next projects. I know filmmakers who have come here with a film having never stepped foot in Santa Fe in their lives, and they meet a collaborator and leave with a huge deal and the financing for their movie.”