The Santa Fe International Film Festival returns tomorrow, beginning its 16th annual run, this time for five days featuring 180 plus screenings.
The festival has grown in stature in recent years. It was just announced that winning films in three of the categories for shorts will automatically qualify for Oscar consideration.
A panel of more than 100 film professionals and aficionados sifted through about 4,000 films to pick the ones that would show at any of six venues in town, according to artistic director Jacques Paisner.
He said they sought not only great films, but also ones that revolve around characters who grapple with how they see themselves fitting into the world.
“The theme is identity and what makes a person dissimilar from another or the same as another. And you know, at a certain point the main character may pose the question, who am I?“ Paisner said.
Paisner said that local filmmakers are behind many of the projects to be screened, including two features, two feature length documentaries, and two programs of local short films.
One of the most talked about films with a local tie-in, Paisner said, is a documentary about one of New Mexico’s most well-known artists.
The film, Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light, features Clare Danes as the voice of the artist and will be making its world premiere at the Santa Fe Festival on Saturday night.
Actor Bryan Cranston will be at the Lensic Saturday night to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
As the festival’s artistic director since 2018, Paisner is happy about the success of the festival, and is grateful for the simultaneous and astonishing growth of the New Mexico film industry overall in recent years.
“The industry growing in the state has kind of coincided with our growth and success," Paisner said.
"When we see Netflix make a 10-year commitment and NBC Universal buys a studio, it's heartening for the business itself here and makes the public more excited about movies being made here and in turn, the festival is a beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time.”
Some screenings and events are already sold out. Get the details at santafe.film.
