Release courtesy of the New Mexico Economic Development Department
SANTA FE—The New Mexico Film Office today announced a series of Town Hall meetings scheduled to take place across the state, beginning with Southern New Mexico in October. Director Nick Maniatis will discuss the state of the New Mexico film industry – including an update about 2011 legislation, the outlook going forward, and opportunities and training available to New Mexicans. The meetings are also intended to provide an open forum for the new Director to learn about educational programs, film related businesses, and issues of concern for each community. The Town Halls are free and open to all, including students, local filmmakers, businesses and the general public.
The first three Town Hall meetings will take place October 17, 18 and 19 in Las Cruces, Ruidoso and Roswell, respectively. The New Mexico Film Office will take questions from the audience and will collaborate with local chambers of commerce and schools in conducting these events.
“We are working to make sure that New Mexicans across the state have a chance to be a part of this exciting and growing industry,” said Nick Maniatis, Director of the New Mexico Film Office. “Through these town halls, we are reaching out to residents around New Mexico to create a dialogue about how we can help each other in representing our communities.”
The first series of these meetings will take place as follows:
LAS CRUCES: Monday, October 17th – 6:30pm
Doña Ana Community College Auditorium
2800 N. Sonoma Ranch Blvd, Las Cruces, NM 880012
Contact: Matthew Byrnes at mbyrnes@nmsu.edu
RUIDOSO: Tuesday, October 18th – 6:30pm
Spencer Theatre
108 Spencer Rd., Alto, NM 88312
(575) 336-4800
Contact: Dirk Norris at dirk@dirknorris.com
ROSWELL: Wednesday, October 19th – 5:30pm
Roswell Chamber of Commerce
131 West 2nd Street, Roswell, NM 88201-4703
Contact: Kathleen Curtis at kathleen@roswellnm.org | (575) 623-5695
“We have a strong and vibrant independent film industry throughout the state, with a top-notch digital media circuit in Southern New Mexico. We look forward to learning more about their work and supporting their efforts in any way we can,” said Trish Lopez of the NM Film Office.
There is no RSVP necessary to attend any of the Town Hall meetings and the NM Film Office encourages the surrounding communities to come out and participate in the discussion. The expected time frame for each is approximately two hours with Q&A. Future Town Hall meetings will be scheduled in other cities in early 2012. The New Mexico Film Office conducts regular visits to communities across New Mexico each year during conferences, seminars, and as part of its annual tour of winning films through its NM Filmmakers Showcases.
For more information on the 2011 Film Industry Town Hall meetings and other NM Film Office announcements, please visit www.nmfilm.com or call (505) 476-5611.