Film Office manager: New Mexico film industry going ‘strong’
(The Center Square) – Despite some films being stalled last year due to COVID-19, New Mexico’s film industry is alive and kicking.
Besides recurring productions like “Roswell, New Mexico” and “Better Call Saul,” New Mexico has seen 10 new productions come into the state, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
Albuquerque and Santa Fe snagged top two placements for ‘Best Place to Live and Work as a Moviemaker’ in 2021 by MovieMaker Magazine, Albuquerque for ‘Best Big City’ and Santa Fe for ‘Best Small Town.’
Plentiful crew and production facilities were listed by MovieMaker Magazine among the major draws to these places.
New Mexico has been working to grow its film appeal.
“We have launched and continue to develop new training programs for New Mexicans that includes programs to recruit local crew and talent into the industry, and/or to skill-up and expand our existing workforce,” Jennifer Esquivel, senior manager of marketing and communications for the New Mexico Film Office, told The Center Square.
Last year, the state reported the film industry spent an estimated $275 million. The state also secured a major studio expansion project by Netflix.
Over 2018 and 2019, both Netflix and NBCUniversal made commitments to build studios within New Mexico’s borders.
“The linchpin behind the explosive growth of the New Mexico Film Industry is the film incentive program,” Esquivel said. “Film Incentives are a way of doing business and are directly tied to production budgets.”
In 2019, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham increased the film incentive program’s cap to $110 million.
“The increased cap on the incentive has been a game-changer in New Mexico attracting the amount of productions we have in the state today,” Esquivel said.
Esquivel said the state’s film industry is strong. Currently, New Mexico’s state-wide film liaison program has more than 60 liaisons representing cities, towns, counties and tribal lands all over the state, but the Film Office is working to expand that further.
The office is also working to grow their film locations library, she said.
“We educate local business owners about how the film and television industry can provide an additional revenue stream, in addition to maintaining a comprehensive directory of qualified New Mexico vendors,” Esquivel said.
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