The ABQ-Bernco Public Library starts out the new year by mixing a bit of literature with a bit of film. On Sunday, Jan. 7, folks are invited to the Central & Unser Library (8081 Central Ave. NW) for a free screening of the 2017 fantasy feature The Dark Tower. The movie is a (mostly) family friendly, PG-13 adaptation of Stephen King’s epic, eight-book series about an extradimensional gunslinger battling the forces of evil in the form of the demonic Man in Black. Idris Elba and Matthew McConoughey star. The film screens from 1:30 to 3:30pm.
Reel World: Locals Should Submit Locals Should Submit
As of Jan. 1, the New Mexico Film Office is accepting submissions for its annual New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase, a juried competition open to all up-and-coming New Mexico filmmakers. The winners of the showcase will be announced at an awards ceremony in May at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. The Best in Show winner will take home a $250 cash prize from the New Mexico Film Foundation. All winning films will be screened at the 2018 New Mexico Film & Media Industry Conference this fall. There is no fee to submit. Organizers are looking for short films (60 minutes or less) in the following categories: Comedy, Drama, Documentary, Horror, Fantasy, Music Video, Sci-Fi and Student. Films must have been completed on or after October 25, 2016. One submission per person is allowed. All entrants must, of course, be New Mexico residents. Entry deadline is March 15. To fill out your application, upload your film and get it in front of this year’s judges, go to nmfilmoffice.submittable.com/submit.
Reel World: Cowboy Up Cowboy Up
The nonprofit New Mexico Film Foundation is managing the submission process, judging and award ceremony of the $5,000 “Let’s Make a Western” film grant. The submission process opened on Jan. 1 and will end on Feb. 28. You have until then to supply a one-page résumé, a brief description of your film and a four-to-five-page treatment for the story. The film should revolve around “true New Mexico history, primarily set in the time period 1850-1920” and must have horses. (It ain’t a Western without horses, don’t ya know.) The NMFF will help connect the grant winner with appropriate background actors, ranches, Western sets, period clothes, firearms, wagons and—of course—horses, as needed. The film must be completed by Oct. 1, 2018 and be at least five minutes long. To apply for this grant, fill out a form—including the above-described documentation—at nmfilmfoundation.org/grants/lets-make-a-western. The winner of the $5,000 Let’s Make a Western Grant will be announced on March 31.
