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SFIFF+OSCARS=2GeTHER4EVER
For those folks who’ve been around over the last 16-ish years or so during which the Santa Fe International Film Festival (formerly Santa Fe Indepedent Film Festival, although we’ll stop reminding you about that name change at some point here, so try to remember) has risen from a handful of folding chairs at the teen center to a fully realized spectacle, note that SFIFF is now officially designated as an Oscar-qualifying event. What does this mean? It means that the winners of this year’s Best Animated Short, Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short cateogories can parlay those wins into submissions for the Acadmey of Motions Picture Art and Sciences awards, aka freaking Oscars. This is a big deal, especially as the fest is growing. Why, just last week, co-founder and Artistic Firector Jacques Paisner told SFR that SFIFF received more than 4,000 submissions in 2024, “so I think we can expect 6,000 or 7,000 for 2025. This year’s SFIFF is just around the corner, too, with a start date of Wednesday, Oct. 16. And it’s a big one, including films from Jesse Eisneberg, Malcolm Washington and soooooo many more. The nonprofit Santa Fe Film Institute that presents the fest will also give a lifetime achievement award to Bryan “Breaking Bad” Cranston during the fest. Visit santafe.film for all the information.
Amy, Amy, She’s Our Gal!
Anti-profit arthouse theater No Name Cinema hosts a whole slew of Guy Maddin films starting at 7 pm on Friday, Oct. 11, and that’s not all! Later in the month (Monday, Oct. 21, to be exact), No Name screens the short films of Amy Halpern in their 16mm formats. Halpern sadly died in 2022, but film is forever! Visit nonamecinema.org for more info.
Those Low-Down Blues
Hey, blues fans? Head to the Center for Contemporary Arts starting Friday, Oct. 11 for a 2K restoration of 1973 blues documentary The Blues Under the Skin featuring the biggies like Buddy Guy, BB King, Bukka White and so many more. We bet there’s more info at ccasantafe.org.
Do You know a Show Called Videodrome?
PSA: Violet Crown Cinema is slated to screen Cronenberg’s Videodrome with James Woods and Deborah “Debbie” Harry at 7:30 pm on Saturday, Oct. 12, and you should totally see Videodrome if you want to know why we can ID the filmmaker by last name only without confusing anyone. Visit santafe.violetcrown.com for tickets and such.
