On Thursday, June 13, Reel New Mexico is excited to present “Becoming Eduardo,” an award-winning feature film directed by Rod McCall of Las Cruces. McCall will discuss the film and take questions from the audience after the screening. The program starts at 7 p.m. at La Tienda Center in Eldorado.

 Based on the novel Alternative Ed, by LouAnne Johnson, “Becoming Eduardo” tells the story of Eddie Corazon. At sixteen, the former straight-A student has become a juvenile delinquent attending an alternative high school in Rosablanca, New Mexic. There he falls in love with a college-bound girl and discovers he has a knack for poetry. But a few bad choices result in Eddie’s being sent to live with his bachelor uncle Tio in Truth or Consequences. There he takes to calling himself Eduardo, as his exposure ot Tio’s way of life shatters his masculine stereotypes and inspires himself to view himself – and the world – in a new light. 

Director Rod McCall, who will discuss the film, teaches Storyboarding and Directing at New   MexicoStateUniversity. Julian Alcaraz, the actor who plays Eddie, has gone on to become a regular in the new cable version of “90210” and is one of the leads in the big studio remake of “Red Dawn.” “Becoming Eduardo” has been shown at 17 film festivals throughout the world and won three awards at the Santa Fe Film Festival in 2009.

Reel New   Mexico presents films with a New   Mexico connection on the second Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m. in The Performance Space in La Tienda Center, off Avenida Vista Grande at 285. A contribution of five dollars is suggested at the door. Directions to the venue are at www.reelnewmexico.com

Thursday, April 11, 7 p.m.

At The Performance Space at La Tienda 

“GLOBALIZED SOUL” 

In the tradition of their acclaimed “Rumi Returning,” Cynthia Lukas and Kell Stearns’ film “Globalized Soul: Stories from the Tipping Point to a New World” explores humanity’s longing for love and peace. Set to the music of Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar, it features the spiritual wisdom of the Dalia Lama and sacred activists throughout the world. A “must see” film, it was featured at the United Nations 2011 Day of Peace broadcast and premiered at the World Peace Festival in Berlin.

Filmmaker Q and A after the screening. 

$5 suggested at the door

REEL NEW   MEXICO

Monthly screenings of New Mexico’s

finest independent films

 REEL NEW MEXICO

 Monthly screenings of New Mexico’s finest independent films

presents:

“ROOTED LANDS”

 Thursday, March 14, 7 p.m.

At The Performance Space at La Tienda

 Yes, it can happen here. The documentary “Rooted Lands” follows residents of nearby Mora and San Miguel counties as they mobilize to protect their communities from the threat of hydraulic fracturing, aka fracking. The film’s breathtaking cinematography celebrates the landscapes and cultures of the area and makes their battle all that more crucial and affecting. If you are concerned about the future of our environment, you won’t want to miss “Rooted Lands.”

Q and A with filmmakers Renea Roberts and Nancy Dickenson follows the screening.

$5 suggested at the door

REEL NEWMEXICO kicks off the 2013 season witha new film by two of last year’s most popular filmmakers.

 “Still Dreaming” is a documentary feature from Jilann Spitzmiller and Hank Rogerson, makers of last year’s award-winning, standing-room-only “Shakespeare Behind Bars.” Where the 2012 film chronicled a production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in a medium security Kentucky prison, “Still Dreaming” tells the story of the high-stakes return to the stage by a group of entertainers living at a home for aging actors just outside Manhattan.

 A work-in-progress, shown for audience feedback, “Still Dreaming” follows two young co-directors and an ensemble of actors in their eighties who mount a production of the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” After six eventful weeks of rehearsals, they pull off two vibrant performances for friends and family. Along the way, the film explores hard questions about what should be asked of senior citizens and what they should ask of themselves, whether creativity is an essential human endeavor even into old age, and what is the value of community and intergenerational endeavors.

With the exception of this year’s opening program, set for February 21, all screenings take place on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at The Performance Space in La Tienda, a comfortable 100-seat venue with state-of-the-art equipment, located at Eldorado, off 285 just 10 minutes south of the Plaza. A contribution of five dollars is suggested at the door. More about Reel New Mexico and directions to the venue can be found  at www.reelnewmexico.com

 On Thursday, October 11, Reel New Mexico screens two films by Albuquerque filmmakers. “Missing You,” a delightful feature-length romantic comedy, is by Phil Duran. “Phoenix,” the haunting coming-of-age short film that opens the program, is by Sarah Northrop, the editor of “Missing You.” The program starts at 7 p.m. at La Tienda Center in Eldorado.

“Missing You” tells the charming story of Laura, who is beautiful, intelligent, fast approaching thirty, and has a plan for her life. However, Laura’s life plan requires that she find “the one,” and when the film opens that feat is still just a dream. Meanwhile, Rick, a handsome and successful young man about Laura’s age, struggles to understand women as he, too, searches for that special someone. Rick and Laura share similar interests, goals and desires, live in the same city, frequent the same establishments, even know some of the same people. Their paths cross time and again, but they keep missing one another. Will they ever meet? And if they do, what then?

 Phil Duran, writer and director of “Missing You,” retired after twenty years from a career in law enforcement and began making films. One of his earlier works, “The Righteous and the Wicked,” is currently distributed on DVD by Lionsgate.  

 “Phoenix,” the short film that precedes “Missing You,” isa haunting tale about a boy coming of age in a post-apocalyptic world, who is torn between saving the life of his father and running away with a beautiful adventuress. It was forged during the Albuquerque 48-hour film project this July and marks the directorial debut of Sarah Northrop, who edited “Missing You.” It was co-written by Northrop and Giuseppe Quinn, photographed by Craig Butler, and stars Phil Duran, Merritt Glover and Dylan Montoya.

Reel New Mexico screens films with a New Mexico connection, on the second Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m. in The Performance Space in La Tienda, off Avenida Vista Grande at 285. For a delightful evening, be sure to catch “Missing You” and “Phoenix” on October 11. A contribution of five dollars is suggested at the door. Directions to the venue are at www.reelnewmexico.com 

NEW MEXICO IN THE MOVIES

THE FIRST 100 YEARS

On Thursday, September 13, REEL NEW MEXICO presents a fascinating and entertaining overview of the history of filmmaking in New Mexico from 1898 to 1990 from the perspective of film reviewer, historian and fanatical movie enthusiast Jeff Berg. Titled “New Mexico in the Movies – the First 92 Years,” Berg’s program, designed especially for Reel New Mexico, uses numerous film clips and Berg’s own delightful behind-the-scenes narration to show the solid foundation on which the film industry in New Mexico rests today. The program starts at 7 p.m. at The Performance Space.

 New Mexico’s filmmaking history is rich and varied. Since Thomas Edison arranged to shoot the first known piece of motion picture film at the Isleta Pueblo Day School in 1898 to the present day, more than 500 feature films and television shows have been shot within the borders of our state. To add a unique historical view to the state’s centennial year, Berg has assembled an all-new set of clips from made-in-New Mexico movies especially for Reel New Mexico.

Formerly of Las Cruces and recently relocated to Santa Fe, Berg got the idea for a series of programs on New Mexico films from a weekly film series he hosted in Las Cruces, which included numerous made-in-New Mexico movies. The films Berg will cover at his Reel New Mexico program encompass all genres, from comedy to drama to Western to horror. He will offer background on each movie, including shooting locations, insider trivia and New Mexico history, in a blend of humor and information that encourages audience participation. In this exciting premiere presentation, the audience will visit every corner of the state, from Farmington to Carlsbad and from Clayton to Lordsburg and learn about the three distinct periods in New Mexico’s film history. Berg promises there will not be a pop quiz afterwards.

Reel New Mexico, a monthly program of films with a New Mexico connection, was formed early in 2012 to fill a need for an ongoing, noncompetitive venue for New Mexico filmmakers. Unlike festivals, Reel New Mexico has no entry fee and gives no awards. Proceeds from the $5 suggested at the door go for expenses and to the filmmakers for ongoing projects. Don’t miss “New Mexico in the Movies,” Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. at The Performance Space

August 9: Three short films for everyone
 

On Thursday, July 12, REEL NEW MEXICO, a monthly series showcasing independent films with a New Mexico connection, will present “RUMI RETURNING: The Triumph of Divine Passion” at 7 p.m. at The Performance Space in La Tienda Center in Eldorado. Producer-director Kell Kearns and producer Cynthia Lukas will be present to discuss their film. 

The acclaimed documentary tells the life story of the great 13^th Century Persian poet and Sufi sage, who is today the best-selling poet in the U.S. and numerous other countries throughout the world. It drew overflow crowds at theSanta Fe and Sun Valley film festivals and elsewhere and has been shown on more than 330 PBS stations.

Jon Bowman, then Executive Director of the Santa Fe Film Festival, described “Rumi Returning” as “not only a work of extreme visual beauty, but also a feature exhibiting immense passion and conveying a profound spiritual message certain to resonate deeply with viewers.”

The film was shot in Turkey, in locations that were part of the poet’s everyday life. Onscreen commentators include Coleman Barks, whose translations of Rumi’s poetry are largely responsible for the poet’s contemporary popularity in the West, as well as Akar Ahmed, Professor of Islamic Studies at American University, and Rumi expert and mystical scholar Andrew Harvey.

ReelNew Mexicowas formed early in 2012 to fill a need for an ongoing, noncompetitive venue forNew Mexicofilmmakers and films with aNew Mexicoconnection. Unlike film festivals, Reel NewMexicohas no entry fee and gives no awards. Proceeds from the $5 suggested at the door go to meet expenses and to participating filmmakers for ongoing projects.

Don’t miss “Rumi Returning: The Triumph of Divine Passion,” on Thursday, July 12, at7 p.m.in The Performance Space at La Tienda in Eldorado.#

Contact:  Diane Thomas or Bill Osher

                505-466-1265

    reelnewmexico@gmail.com