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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Stewart

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/12/07

HB 676

SHORT TITLE International Digital Filmmaking Festival

SB

ANALYST Earnest

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

$300.0

Recurring

General Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Economic Development Department (EDD)

Higher Education Department (HED)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 676 appropriates $300 thousand from the general fund to the Economic Development

Department for expenditure in FY07 and FY08 to contract for services to conduct an

international digital filmmaking festival in Albuquerque that will serve to promote the film

industry in New Mexico and educate students in the Film Technician Training Program at

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) and students of the Media Arts Program at the

University of New Mexico (UNM).

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The appropriation of $300 thousand contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general

fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2008 shall

revert to the general fund.

House Bill 676 – Page

2

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

According to HED, the appropriation would support the Duke City Shootout, a script-to-screen

competition begun in 2000 as Flicks on 66. The festival conducts a worldwide search for short

film scripts and selects seven winners. The writers are then brought to Albuquerque in July to

shoot, edit, and premiere their movies in one week. The festival and its partners provide cast,

crew, digital cameras and equipment, locations, catering, editing facilities, producers, and

industry mentors.

Digital Filmmaking Institute (DFI), the nonprofit organization that produces the Duke City

Shootout, has produced more than 49 movies during the first seven competitions. Many of the

movies have played at other festivals around the world.

Each year, just prior to the festival, DFI sponsors a "digital boot camp" where novices are paired

with professionals and offered a week's worth of classes in a variety of movie-related disciplines.

More than 1,000 students have attended the boot camps since 2000.

DFI has forged educational partnerships with the Media Arts Program at UNM and the state's

Film Technicians Training Program (FTTP) in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Roswell, and Las Cruces.

FTTP students provide much of the crew for the shootout. DFI works with UNM’s Division of

Continuing Education, CNM, Albuquerque Public Schools, and the International Alliance of

Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) 480 union to provide training opportunities in the movie

industry.

In the 2006 session, the Legislature appropriated over $300 thousand from the general fund for

the festival in FY07.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

HED suggests that the festival will expose filmmakers with movie industry influence to New

Mexico’s unique communities and diverse landscapes. The potential for economic growth from

filmmakers attending this festival is strong as filmmakers may return to film future films.

WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCES OF NOT ENACTING THIS BILL

The festival would have to find sponsorship funds from other sources.

BE/nt