New Mexico Lawyers for the Arts is joining forces with NMedia (the newly formed New Mexico Entertainment and Digital Industry Association) for a two-day summit designed to hash out various legal and business issues related to the film industry here in New Mexico. Six special lectures and two large panel discussions will run Oct. 6 and 7 at Santa Fe’s Zane Bennett Contemporary Art (435 South Guadalupe). On Thursday, for example, a distinguished panel of film industry professionals will head the “Issues in Indie Film and Film Festivals Panel: Social and Economic Impact of Film Festivals and Film on a Community.” (Yeah, it sounds like a lawyer wrote that title.) Award-winning underground auteur Jon Moritsugu ( Scumrock, Fame Whore, Terminal USA ), Jacques Paisner (founder of the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival), Rich Henrich (founder of the Albuquerque Film Festival) and Frank Regano (International New Media Festival) will join representatives from the Santa Fe Film Festival, Closet Cinema and the New Mexico Department of Tourism. Evening panels at the Legal and Business Issues in Film Summit are free to the public, daytime lectures (covering topics like music copyrights and film financing) are $10. Click on the NM Lawyers for the Arts web site to RSVP (or just learn more of what’s going on).
Reel World: What’s Up Docfest? What’s Up Docfest?
The Duke City DocFest returns on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Head on down to the KiMo Theatre for the opening-night offerings. At 6:15 p.m., it’s Death By Medicine— a cinematic adaptation of Gary Null’s best-selling attack on the pharmaceutical industry. At 8:15 p.m., it’s Hot Coffee . That one explores the infamous 1992 case of an Albuquerque woman who suffered third-degree burns from a cup of McDonald’s coffee and promptly sued the bejeezus out of the fast food chain. The film aims to change the minds of viewers who think they know the story of the multimillion-dollar jury verdict. Fueling your distrust of doctors and lawyers? Sounds like a good way to start things off. Films run through Sunday, Oct. 16. We’ll have more info in next week’s paper.
