Rewarding Vision

\ Nov 22, 2007

3 min read

Earlier this week, Gov. Bill Richardson announced the recipients of the 2007 New Visions/New Mexico Contract Awards. In its second year, the program is providing 11 contracts totaling $160,000 for New Mexico-based producers and directors to create narrative films, documentaries, animated and experimental works. Prizes were handed out in the following categories:

Animation

Paul Glickman and Tamarind King of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, $20,000 toward the short children’s animation “El Salon Mexico.” The film tells the story of Antonito, his burro and his rooster as they sneak out one night to experience a fiesta for the first time.

Documentary

Debra Anderson of Santa Fe, $9,000 toward the completion of Split Estate , about the oil and gas boom in the Western U.S. and its effects on the land and people of the Rocky Mountains.

Marcos Baca of Albuquerque, $20,000 toward Intergenerations , a project that pairs up young people and senior citizens in an effort to document New Mexico’s living history and unique culture.

Ben Daitz of Albuquerque, $20,000 toward The Sun Never Sets , the story of the small independent newspaper The Rio Grande Sun , published in Española and considered one of the best small-town papers in the country.

Erin Hudson of Albuquerque, $20,000 for In Place, Out of Time , which follows an elderly New Mexican’s larger-than-life quest to photograph every petroglyph and pictograph in the state.

Experimental

Melissa Henry of Rehoboth, $10,000 for “Blue Heeler,” about a Navajo sheep dog who loses his flock.

Patricia McInroy of Albuquerque, $2,700 for “Not Only Just Coffee,” a short film about death, immigration and globalization.

Sarah Williams of Albuquerque, $3,300 for “Untitled Composition,” a project that will use found and newly shot Super 8 film to depict a family’s attempts to capture a moment in time.

Narrative

Gregory Doucette of Albuquerque, $20,000 toward “The Purple Hat,” a short film adaptation of the short story by Eudora Welty. Mr. Doucette is also the recipient of the Panavision Award and the Mike Laurance Award, in memory of longtime New Mexico film educator and mentor Mike Laurance.

Larry Blackhorse Lowe of Kirtland, $20,000 toward the short film “Masa’n’i,” about a ’40’s-era Navajo teenager who must choose between her traditional life and the larger world outside the reservation. Mr. Lowe will also receive the Panavision Award.

Randy Nargi of Albuquerque, $20,000 toward Hearing Voices , a comedy about a recently widowed actress who embarks on a tumultuous relationship with a supernatural acquaintance.