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50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2024

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SANTA FE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Santa Fe, New Mexico / October 16-20 / santafe.film

Located in the No. 1 town on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, SFIFF has a best-of-both worlds appeal: It feels far from the pressure of the coasts, but New Mexico is fast becoming one of the world’s great film hubs. (It doesn’t hurt that the latest Oscar winner for Best Picture, Oppenheimer, shot outside Santa Fe.) The prizes are generous, including a $90,000 prize package from Panavision and Light Iron for the Best Narrative Feature and a $15,000 Panavision camera package for the Best Narrative Short. The festival is also generous with travel and lodging. Films in the latest edition included the world premiere of Lois Lipman’s documentary First We Bombed New Mexico, the untold story of how the Trinity test portrayed in Oppenheimer affected thousands of New Mexicans, including the Indigenous people of the region. You can draw inspiration not just from the films, but from the land and the town: Nestled in the natural beauty of the Sangre de Cristo foothills, Santa Fe is also home to countless art galleries. SFIFF organizers Jacques Paisner and Gary Farmer often welcome guests to their Film Talk Weekly radio show and podcast, the festival holds a special panel to connect filmmakers with distributors, and fantastic events have been known to include a reception at the New Mexico Governor’s Mansion. Past festival guests have included Sterlin Harjo, Oliver Stone, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Redford, Wes Studi, Jane Seymour, Ethan Hawke, Godfrey Reggio, Catherine Hardwicke and many more. 

By Tim Molloy