Santa Fe Film Festival facts for kids

The Santa Fe Film Festival is a special event that celebrates movies from all over the world. It's a non-profit organization, which means it focuses on sharing great films rather than making money. The festival shows many different kinds of movies. These include films made in New Mexico, new American movies, and international films. They also show older classic movies and independent films.

The festival works with schools and other groups. It gives filmmakers, critics, and teachers a place to talk about movies. The winners at the festival receive a unique award. It is a sculpture made by an artist. The Santa Fe Film Festival is known as one of the best independent film festivals in the United States.

About the Festival

The Santa Fe Film Festival usually takes place between late November and early December. It is held in the beautiful city of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The festival first started in 1999. It began its regular yearly schedule in 2000. That year, over 9,000 tickets were sold!

The festival was created by Kurt Young and Joanna England. Kurt Young was also the first director of the festival. Jon Bowman later became the director and led the festival for ten years.

Festival Awards

The awards given at the festival have changed over the years. In the beginning, awards were given for:

• Best Short Film
• Best Documentary Film
• Best Feature Film
• Best Native American Film
• Best Latino Film

By 2006, new awards were introduced. These included the Milagro Award for the best American independent film. There was also the Independent Spirit Award and the Audience Award. Other special awards were the Creative Spirit Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. This last award honors someone for their long and important work in movies.

Notable Award Winners

Many talented filmmakers and films have been recognized at the Santa Fe Film Festival. Here are some of the films and people who have won awards:

Early Award Winners

• In 1999, the film Cider House Rules won Best Feature.
• In 2000, One Day in the Life of Andrei Arsenevich won Best Documentary. Zamani barayé masti asbha won Best Feature. Backroads by Shirley Cheechoo won Best Native American Film.
• In 2001, Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner won Best Feature. Y tu mamá también won Best Latino Film.
• In 2002, Hukkle won Best Feature. Little Lourdes won Best New Mexico Film.

Later Award Winners

• In 2003, Indigo won the Audience Award. Jesus Freak won Best of the Southwest.
• In 2004, Dare mo shiranai won Best of Festival.
• In 2005, Self Medicated won Best of the Southwest. Souvenir won Best Animation.
• In 2006, the Milagro Award went to Cowboy del Amor. The Audience Award was given to The Gymnast. A special Lifetime Achievement award was given to Laszlo Kovacs. He was a famous camera expert who worked on over 60 movies, including Easy Rider and Ghostbusters. Actress Ali MacGraw helped present this award.
• In 2007, Alanis Obomsawin, a filmmaker from the National Film Board of Canada, received the Luminaria Lifetime Achievement award. The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez won Best Documentary.