The City Different’s profile is rising in the movie industry.
MovieMaker Magazine’s annual list of the best places to live and work as a movie maker lists Santa Fe as the No. 3 on its top five towns list.
This marks the first time Santa Fe has been mentioned on this list.
According to MovieMaker, this year’s list is categorized in three pools — big cities (population 400,000 and up), small cities (population 100,000-400,000) and town (population under 100,000).
According to MovieMaker, Santa Fe is romantic, beautiful, historic and is distinguished for being a multicultural arts hub in the New Mexican desert.
Santa Fe is home to Santa Fe Studios and Garson Studios.
TV shows “Longmire” and “Manhattan” are housed at Garson Studios. “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” and the film “A Million Ways to Die in the West” were housed at Santa Fe Studios.
Nick Maniatis, director of the New Mexico Film Office, said it’s fantastic that MovieMaker recognized Santa Fe’s growth and presence in filmmaking.
“I’ll be really happy when every city in our state is recognized,” he said. “There’s a lot of production coming into the city.”
According to Jane Rosemont — who filmed the 2014 documentary “Pie Lady of Pie Town — it was the creative environment which drew her to Santa Fe.
“We had a rental home here and, as a fine art photographer, my visits became longer and longer… then I got smart and moved here full time,” she said. “When I was looking for a director of photography and an editor, all I needed to do is ask my friends in the industry here. Everyone is eager to help match up appropriate workers with filmmakers. There are enough resources for a rich pool, but it’s not overwhelming.”
Some of the permanent fixtures in Santa Fe includes actor Wes Studi (who provided narration on ‘Pie Lady’) and author George R.R. Martin of the “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga made world-famous by HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
Santa Fe is also home to the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival as well as the Santa Fe Film Festival. MovieMaker will release the rest of the list at the end of January.
