A few more steps left: As SAG-AFTRA deal heads to board, film projects in New Mexico are lining up

After 118 days, New Mexicans in the film industry can breathe a little easier.

On Wednesday, a tentative deal with the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) put an end to the picketing.

The deal heads to the SAG-AFTRA board Friday and is expected to win approval. It will then head to the membership for ratification, which will take a couple weeks before filming will resume.

“The presumption is that the board will pass it through,” said Talia Pura, president of New Mexico Local SAG-AFTRA. “We are off the picket lines and we’re sure our negotiating committee didn’t cave and got us the best deal.”

New Mexico SAG-AFTRA membership is more than 1,000.

Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, Santa Fe Film Office executive director, said with a tentative deal being reached, she’s looking forward to productions hitting the ground.

Since the Writers Guild of America ended its strike Sept. 27, LaBar-Tapia experienced an influx of calls.

“When the WGA negotiated their contract, within a week, I had eight productions in pre-production. They were loose commitments knowing that SAG-AFTRA was going to follow suit.”

Though those projects are waiting for the green light, LaBar-Tapia said the Santa Fe Film Office kept busy with non-union projects.

“We’ve continued to see work come through,” she said. “There were documentaries, reality shows, photo shoots and independent films that kept coming through. Now that negotiations are near, we’re getting commitments from larger projects.”

One of the projects ready to resume is AMC’s “Dark Winds,” which was greenlit for a third season on Sept. 19. While pre-production is in place, AMC doesn’t plan to air the third season until early 2025.

LaBar-Tapia is excited to see work not only coming to the film industry, but to the businesses that support it.

“So many people have suffered since May,” she said. “A lot of them have had to pick up secondary jobs. It went on for so long, and it’s great for New Mexicans to get back to work doing what they love.”

While the ratification from the union is still to come, LaBar-Tapia expects some productions to start after Thanksgiving, which would buck the film industry trend of productions slowing down during the holidays.

“There was always a downtime around the holidays,” she said. “Post-COVID, the last few years have remained busy with production around Santa Fe. ‘The Curse’ filmed during the winter. ‘Dark Winds’ is always one that films during the winter, too.”

New Mexicans joined in on the picket line a number of times over the course of the 118-day strike. On July 26 more than 250 picketed outside of Netflix Studios in Albuquerque.

SAG-AFTRA voted to strike on July 13 and began picketing across the country on July 14. In doing so, the actors guild joined the Writers Guild of America in the first dual-union strike in 60 years.

Pura said New Mexicans stood strong with the union and fought for their rights.

“Unions are so important and life-changing in every sphere of work,” Pura said. “The middle class has plummeted over the years because of the loss of unions.”

Pura says the SAG-AFTRA membership continues to grow as the film industry continues to grow roots in New Mexico.

While SAG-AFTRA members have yet to see the terms of the three-year deal, Pura said changes such as artificial intelligence and streaming were key items to address in the new contract.

“We’ve been pretty good for about 15 years with contracts,” she says. “AI and streaming are new frontiers in this industry and just because they are new doesn’t mean it carries over into our old agreement. The union needed to deal with these issues.”

At the New Mexico Film Office, the work never slowed down. The state’s film tax incentive also is available to projects in digital media, video games and commercials.

The New Mexico Film Office, also during the work stoppage, helped residents to continue training or learn new skills.

Amber Dodson, New Mexico Film Office director, is pleased to see there is an agreement between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP and that work in the state will commence soon.

“Our pipeline of projects indicates a very busy stretch ahead. We are excited to share more announcements as productions start up in the coming weeks and months,” Dodson said. “We are especially pleased for the film workforce, and the hundreds of small businesses and industry vendors throughout New Mexico who may now see a resumption of industry spending in time for the holidays.”