The “original” Santa Fe Film Festival returns to a number of venues this Dec. 7 through 11. Between the Jean Cocteau Cinema (418 Montezuma), the CCA Cinematheque (1050 Old Pecos Trail) and The Screen at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design (1600 St. Michaels), you can catch dozens of local, national and international films. Selections run the gamut from shorts (Can You Dig It: Indigenous Shorts on Thursday, Dec. 8, 5:30pm at CCA) to documentaries (The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille on Friday, Dec. 9, 1pm at Jean Cocteau) to romantic dramas (Almost Paris on Saturday, Dec. 10, 5pm at The Screen).Special categories this year include Action Sports Films, Latin American Cinema, Art on Film, Native Cinema, Social Documentaries and more. There are more than 20 New Mexico-made shorts on display (everything from Alejandro Montoya Marín’s comedy “The Jones” to Holly Adams’ experimental fantasy “Shadows of Waste”). Featurewise, we’ve got Albuquerque boy Scotty Milder’s bleak psychosexual drama Dead Billy (Sunday, Dec. 11, 5pm at The Screen). In addition to the movie screenings, there will be several panel discussions including “Finding Truth in Character,” “The Art and Business of Telling Stories,” “Diversity in Action with Julia Jones.” The week will culminate with an award ceremony at the Scottish Rite Temple (463 Paseo de Peralta) on Sunday, Dec. 11. All-access passes ($299) are available now through eventbrite.com. Individual tickets ($10) can be purchased at the various theaters. For a complete schedule of events and times for this 16th annual event, go to santafefilmfestival.com.
Reel World: Short Timers Short Timers
This Sunday, Dec. 11, is the final deadline to submit films to the annual Taos Shortz Film Festival. The annual event will take place March 30 through April 2, 2017, and will spotlight over 150 short films from around the world. The 2017 festival will feature a hands-on “drones in cinema” workshop and a special Native American program introduced by Chris Eyre, director of Smoke Signals. Organizers are currently looking for films between 2 and 28 minutes. Documentaries, animations and experimental films are encouraged, as well as anything directed or produced by Native Americans. Judges will be searching for “exceptional storytelling, films that transport cinemites to an alternative world and culture, creative camera shots and impeccable production.” If you’ve got any of those things to offer, send your work on up to the folks in Taos. More than $2000 in prizes is up for grabs. To submit, go to filmfestivallife.com/Taos-Shortz-Film-Fest. Fees range from $11.44 to $30. For more info on the event itself, go to taosshortz.com.
