FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / February 15, 2023
New Mexico Film & Television Hall of Fame Announces 2023 Inductees
Recognition to be bestowed at Feb. 26 gala banquet concluding The Santa Fe Film Festival
SANTA FE, N.M. — Before declaring “It’s a wrap!” on 10 exciting days of screenings, panels and events, the 2023 edition of The Santa Fe Film Festival — now in its 23rd year— will hold a gala banquet to honor the latest inductees into the New Mexico Film & Television Hall of Fame. The event will unfold at the New Mexico State Capitol, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, at 6 p.m.
This year’s Hall of Fame inductees, in alphabetical order:
BIRGITTA BJERKE
A legendary costumer from the 1960s and 1970s, known for working with rock-and-roll royalty such as Roger Daltrey, Bjerke reinvented her career in New Mexico in 1982. She would go on to collaborate as a costume designer with major directors (including John Carpenter on VAMPIRES and GHOSTS OF MARS) and more than a dozen independent filmmakers over the next two decades.
JIM “GRUBB” GRAEBNER
The career chapters of Grubb’s life (sequentially): journalist, playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, producer, casting director, agent, art director and creator of the film crew training program at Central New Mexico Community College. Hundreds of working New Mexico crew learned under his direction.
BARRY KIRK
In the early 1980s, Kirk, an Emmy-winning cinematographer and director, joined Dave Roberts at Southwest Productions in Albuquerque. As the industry grew locally, Kirk and Roberts partnered to establish the video production company :30 Second Street. Kirk has mentored many film professionals who are working today.
ANDIE MANZANARES
A “Jill of all trades,” Manzanares loves New Mexico, having an amazing and talented crew, and enjoying access to our state’s “take your breath away” locations (particularly around Ghost Ranch in the north and White Sands in the south). She has excelled as a producer, production manager, supervisor, location manager and location scout.
DAVID MANZANARES
Manzanares has worked on more than50 films over three decades — from small independents to large studio blockbusters. A multigenerationalnative New Mexican, he grew up inhis beloved Abiquiu.
FORMER STATE GOV. BILL RICHARDSON
Building on the industry incentives created by preceding New Mexico governors Dave Cargo and Gary Johnson, Richardson worked across the aisle in the roundhouse — improving and creating incentives for film and television production that have been copied by many others. He was both a champion for local filmmakers and a strong messenger emphasizing the industry’s value to the state.
DAVE ROBERTS
Roberts, a New Mexico native and graduate of the University of New Mexico, worked in broadcast and advertising before he formed Southwest Productions in Albuquerque in 1984. In 1987, he partnered with Barry Kirk to build the state-of-the-art postproduction house :30 Second Street, the first independently operated facility of its type in the state.
WARD RUSSELL
A legendary cinematographer (including DAYS OF THUNDER and THE X-FILES feature), Russell and his wife, Mary Cay Hollander, moved to Santa Fe in 1994, where he shared his experience as a top lighting technician and directory of photography with an up-and-coming generation of filmmakers. The Russells — Mary Cay was a production coordinator who worked on films such as ORDINARY PEOPLE, SILVERADO and EDWARD SCISSORHANDS — always made themselves available as mentors within the state’s growing film industry.
FILM LAS CRUCES
Southern New Mexico appears in many of your favorite movies. From White Sands National Monument to the Historic Downtown, Las Cruces and Doña Ana County have been providing stunning locations for film and televisions productions for decades. Film Las Cruces was the catalyst and champion for the Southern New Mexico film “miracle.”
For more information on the New Mexico Film & Television Hall of Fame, please visit nmfilmandtvhalloffame.org. The complete 2023 schedule of screenings and events for The Santa Fe Film Festival is available at santafefilmfestival.com.
CONTACT
NaNi Rivera, Chair
The Santa Fe Film Festival
505.309.2727
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