Ready, Set, Action… Santa Fe Film Office Nominated for Award

By NM Film Office

The Santa Fe Film Office (SFFO) has been nominated for the Outstanding Film Commission Award at the 2018 Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards for their work on “Only the Brave” which was released in the fall of 2017.

This award is for entities who work with location managers to make sure everything goes as planned, navigate the various permitting, and any other challenges. Eric Witt, Santa Fe Film Office Executive Director noted, “Generally speaking it’s an award for “going above and beyond the call of duty” on particularly difficult or challenging productions.” He continued, “In this case “Only the Brave” about the Granite Mountain hotshot crew entailed huge pyrotechnics, special effects, multiple aircraft shots, and water drops, just to name a few and of course it was shot during fire season, just to add a little spice to the mix.”

This film was shot primarily in Santa Fe County and there were multiple county agencies and personnel involved, including: Santa Fe County Fire Department, Sheriff’s Office, Growth Management Land Use Division, Public Works Department, and others in addition to the SFFO. Witt stated the SFFO may be the “face” office of film in the area, but it really does take the entire team to get it done. Jennifer LaBar, Film Office Manager emphasized, “We can’t stress enough that his nomination reflects the entire team, everyone who helped make this production possible.”

To put this nomination in perspective, thousands of feature films and television series are made around the world every year. To be submitted and accepted in the final handful of semi-finalists for this award is a significant recognition (submissions themselves have to be reviewed by an executive committee before they’re even accepted).

“We’ve come a long way in our first 18 months of existence at the SFFO in terms of making a name for the region (Santa Fe was also named this year as a top 3 place to live/work in the film industry in all of North America (US/CA/MX) by MovieMaker Magazine),” said Witt. He continued, “This is the kind of reputation we’re making for the entire Santa Fe region. Especially, in a business that’s as word-of-mouth driven as is the film business, that is why these operations are so important.”

The Location Managers Guild International is an organization of experienced career professionals in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. They are dedicated to the establishment of professional standards of personal conduct and business ethics.

About the Santa Fe Film Office
Since its creation in July, 2016, the Santa Fe Film Office has been busy! Notable films and television series from Santa Fe and surrounding areas from this past year include:

• “WACO” – six-part series
• “Hostiles”- starring Cristian Bale and Wes Studi
• “Woman Walks Ahead”
• “Logan” – on DVD/Streaming (note: 2018 Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay)
• “Godless” – Netflix original series
• “Only the Brave”
• “The Brave”
• “Graves”
• “Longmire”
• Runaway June – song “Wild West” – Music Video
• “Booze Traveler” and “Bizarre Foods” (Travel Channel)
• “Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking”
• “Travels With Darley” (PBS)