Ethan Bach

The Institute of American Indian Arts' digital dome can be used for training and research. The art shown here was created by Louva Hartwell, a new media arts major.

New Mexico boasts an active, growing and diverse Native filmmaking community, and it gets its turn in front of the camera in the Business Weekly’s Tribal Economic Development Focus section this week.

Senior Reporter Megan Kamerick examines some of the factors that have helped New Mexico become such active territory for Native filmmakers.

A high-profile arrival has helped New Mexico’s Native filmmaking scene garner some additional notice in recent months. Chris Eyre, recently named to head the Moving Images Department at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, directed and produced the indie film hit “Smoke Signals” and has worked on “Law and Order” and “Friday Night Lights.”

The Sundance Institute and the Institute of American Indian Arts have programs that have helped foster Native filmmakers’ work in the state. Historically, the New Mexico Film Office programs have given a major boost to the state’s Native filmmakers. Much of that money is depleted, and the future of some of those programs is uncertain.

Despite the challenges in finding funding and audience interest that all filmmakers face — especially in a down economy — many think the Native film community in the state could be poised to grow.

Eyre, who attended film school at New York University in the 1990s when the independent film scene was taking off, said he feels that same kind of energy in the Land of Enchantment. If the Native filmmaking community is thriving anywhere, it’s in New Mexico, he said.

The city of Albuquerque once again made the list of the Top 10 Cities to be an Independent Moviemaker, published by MovieMaker Magazine.

The city is ranked No. 3 for 2011 after New Orleans and Austin. Last year, Albuquerque was in the No. 2 spot behind Boston in 2010, and was in the No. 1 spot in 2009.

The rankings considered a number of factors, including the cost of living, average income levels, housing rates, employment opportunities and overall quality of life. The trade publication also looks at financial incentives, the availability of talent (in front of and behind the camera) and the ease of shooting.

Mayor Richard J. Berry said the industry spent $130 million in the greater Albuquerque area in 2011.

“These productions kept New Mexican film crews working and local establishments busy,” Berry said in a news release. “This national ranking is a real testament to the hard work put into developing the film industry in Albuquerque.”

MovieMaker noted a number of recent films shot here, including “Due Date” and “Fright Night.” Currently, the city has been playing host to “The Last Stand,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Crews were busy last week in Downtown, setting up a shot that involved a zip line between office buildings and a crane that hoisted a car onto a building. “The Lone Ranger” is in pre-production at Albuquerque Studios. The cable television series “In Plain Sight” is filming its fifth and final season here, and “Breaking Bad” will begin shooting its fifth season here as well.

The article quotes Ann Lerner, the city’s film liaison, touting the city’s film-friendly attitude, experienced crew base and variety of looks for different locations. It also quotes filmmaker Craig Butler, who made “The Righteous and the Wicked,” a low-budget indie film.

“New Mexico is a fantastic state to shoot in,” Butler is quoted as saying. “It has created incentives and numerous production resources, such as a prop/costume warehouse filled with things left behind by past productions, and entire Old West towns that have been preserved as film locations. The Albuquerque Film Office is amazing and local businesses are film-friendly. The independent filmmaker couldn’t ask for a better place to work.”

The article characterizes New Mexico’s incentives as “tax breaks you can literally take to the bank,” such as the 25 percent tax rebate, the 50 percent reimbursement on wages for training up state residents and the state’s film loan program, although it calls it a film investment loan program.

The State Investment Council actually did away with the old film investment program, whereby the state invested in films in lieu of charging interest, and the film loan program is now a straightforward interest-bearing loan, said Charles Wollmann, spokesman for the SIC. Only two films out of 24 that participated in the old program yielded profits for the state, “Employee of the Month,” which brought about $500,000, and “The Book of Eli,” which has returned $540,000 so far.

New Mexico was one the first states to create a film incentive program, which allowed it to get a jump on building education programs, a crew base and infrastructure, such as studio facilities, say industry experts. But many states have since followed suit or beefed up their programs. Louisiana has been garnering significant business, with a 30 percent investor tax credit based on total in-state expenditures. Apparently it has also scored the valuable post-production facilities that many in New Mexico would like to see here, since post (the editing and everything else that takes place after principal photography) is often at least half of a film’s budget. MovieMaker notes that FotoKem, the world’s largest independently owned post-production facility, recently opened a satellite office in New Orleans.

It looks like New Mexico’s neighbor, Colorado, is eying upping its own incentive program this year. The state has a “modest” incentive program, reports the Pueblo Chieftain, and now Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, has the support of Gov. John Hickenlooper to try to expand it by about $3 million.

I-25 hosts “In Plain Sight,” which is shooting its fifth season here. The USA Network show is set in Albuquerque and focuses on the federal witness protection program. CEO Rick Clemente said he hopes to make an announcement soon about a new feature film that will use the facility.

The studio has allotted 13,000 square feet of workspace for the picture car facility. It’s outfitted with a lift, tubing benders, plasma cutters and welding gear.

“We can accommodate any special effects prep a production would need, including the installation of roll cages, fire proof fuel cells, and access to a nearby custom paint and body facility,” Clemente said.

The Studios recently provided custom off-road enhancements for a vehicle entered in the London to Cape Town Rally, which takes place this month.

The half-million-square-foot I-25 Studios is housed in the former Philips Semiconductor plant at 9201 Pan American Freeway NE. It has six sound stages, office space and two mills. It recently added a camera rental department.

NMBW Staff

At a celebration of New Mexico's 100th anniversary of statehood Friday, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry (center) said the state is "healthy, vibrant and helping lead the United States through the 21st century."

Albuquerque kicked off its celebration of 100 years of New Mexico’s statehood with honking horns, a locomotive whistle, a brass band, cake and a new exhibit on the historic Alvarado Hotel at the Alvarado Transportation Center Friday.

“A hundred years ago, President Taft signed New Mexico into statehood with the words ‘I am glad to give you life and I trust that you will be healthy,’” said Mayor Richard J. Berry. “A century later, New Mexico is healthy, vibrant and helping lead the United States through the 21st century.”

As Albuquerque resident Emma Stone, 10, cut the ribbon on the Alvarado exhibit, the New Mexico Territorial Brass Band played vintage songs such as “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” and “O Fair New Mexico.” City officials mingled with railroad enthusiasts, commuters and local residents while a few homeless people watched from the sidelines. Several large golden sheet cakes bearing the state’s zia symbol were sliced up and served.

When President William Howard Taft signed New Mexico into statehood, it was a surprise, said Bruce Rizzieri, director of ABQ Ride. It came a few days earlier than anticipated, so there wasn’t much fanfare the day it happened, he said.

“On the 100th anniversary of New Mexico’s statehood, we want to give the day the fanfare it should have gotten,” Rizzieri added.

The new Alvarado exhibit celebrates the history of the Fred Harvey Hotel, which opened in 1902 and was demolished in 1970. The 25 panels on the outer walls of the Alvarado Transportation Center, designed to evoke the old Alvarado, are a combination of narrative history, quotes from those who worked and stayed there, and photographs and images of the Indian Building and the Spanish Building, which celebrated the history and craftsmanship of the state’s residents.

The city’s transit department worked with the Cultural Services Department to create the exhibit, which drew upon an exhibit mounted in 2009 at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.

Rizzieri said it will give residents and visitors an opportunity to learn more about the city and its history.

“It gives a sense of who we are and who we have been,” he said.