Santa Fe International Film Festival makes MovieMaker list of '50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee'

Adrian Gomez, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Updated ·2 min read

Apr. 11—MovieMaker Magazine says welcome back.

The trade magazine named the Santa Fe International Film Festival to its annual "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" list.

The Santa Fe-based festival was on the list from 2014-2020 and returns to the coveted list. It is also the lone New Mexico festival on the list.

"A designation like this is really powerful," said Jacques Paisner, SFiFF artistic director. "It helps us work to get tourists here for the festival. It also gets the word out to filmmakers about the festival being one of the best."

SFiFF takes place in Santa Fe every October and has built itself as a premiere film festival, often bringing in films that later go on to be Oscar nominated.

MovieMaker, a film magazine and website based in Los Angeles, compiles its annual list based on surveys, filmmaker testimonials, and visits to festivals, among other factors. Key considerations include how much assistance a festival provides to traveling filmmakers; recent premieres at the festival; opportunities to meet distributors, fans, fellow filmmakers, and press; and whether festivals are Academy-qualifying.

According to MovieMaker, the festival is based in the No. 1 smaller city on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.

The magazine said Santa Fe blends an artistic spirit with natural wonder all around and understated elegance.

"Attending the festival is an excellent way to get to know a town that has inspired everyone from Georgia O'Keeffe to John Ford. Its sophisticated audience is hungry for new discoveries, foreign films, and filmmakers who take chances, and the festival rewards artists handsomely," the article stated.

SFiFF's Best Narrative Feature earns a $90,000 prize package from Panavision and Light Iron, and SFiFF's Best Narrative Short receives a $15,000 Panavision camera package.

Key events include parties, industry panels, and workshops on acting, editing, and animation.

"Located in the No. 1 town on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, SFIFF gives back to its thriving film community in every sense — from programs for students to some of the most generous prize packages of any festival in the world," said Tim Molloy, MovieMaker Magazine editor-in-chief. "It's a great way to link up with distributors and to learn from masters like Catherine Hardwicke, and we're certain that anyone who visits Santa Fe will find it as artistically inspiring and rejuvenating as we do."

Paisner said the festival tries to keep the entry fee low for filmmakers to submit.

"The early bird rates are low when you look at some of the Chicago festivals that charge bout $200," Paisner said.

A short film runs $40 and a feature film runs $45 in the early bird. Paisner said the prices increase after the initial early bird dates. The 2023 festival runs Oct. 18-22.