MovieMaker magazine announced today three New Mexico cities on their annual list of “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker” for 2023, including Las Cruces, which has been named on the list for the first time.
“For the first time on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, Las Cruces, joined our Smaller Cities and Towns. New Mexico is thriving as a film capital, and we especially appreciate its efforts to train locals to join this thriving industry. We can’t wait to see the stories they’ll tell in the coming years.”
Small Cities and Towns
1. Santa Fe, New Mexico
2. Wilmington, North Carolina
3. Savannah, Georgia
4. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
5. Palm Springs, California
6. Knoxville, Tennessee
7. Las Cruces, New Mexico
“Las Cruces is honored to be named amongst the most prestigious and well-known filming towns in America,” Las Cruces Senator Jeff Steinborn said. “Our great locations and crew, top notch film incentives, and full-service film office makes Las Cruces and Doña Ana County an excellent filming destination.”
“New Mexico’s strategic investments in film and television are returning dollars, creating jobs, and helping small businesses in all corners of the state. The Moviemaker rankings prove our strategy is working. We now need to build on this momentum to create a sustainable, robust economic future for the families that depends on this jobs-rich industry,” EDD Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes said.
Further advancing the New Mexico film industry and ecosystem is Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s recent announcement of the New Mexico Media Academy (NMMA), a collaboration with the Higher Education Department and 15 of their film and media programs statewide, Netflix, NBCUniversal, 828 Productions, and IATSE Local 480. The NMMA will be an epicenter for industry-standard workforce training with facilities located in Albuquerque and Las Cruces.
Las Cruces (an NMBorderplex city) being recognized this year in Moviemaker magazine is an honor and testament to our smart film incentives, unique locations, bar-none crew, and film-friendly communities statewide,” said Amber Dodson, Director of the New Mexico Film Office.
MovieMaker is dedicated to the art and craft of making movies. Their list of the “Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker” in 2023 appears in the new issue, with “Creed III” star and director Michael B. Jordan on the cover. They compile the annual list based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research, and personal visits, whenever possible.
For the complete 2023 list of Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker visit MovieMaker.com.
