Free: Made-in-New Mexico Film Retrospective

Normally, we don’t run “free with paid admission” items because…well, they’re not exactly “free” if you have to pay for admission, right?

But this one’s a little different.

The State Fair is offering a fabulous event for film buffs. In conjunction with the New Mexico Film Museum (wait, we have a state film museum?), the State Fair will present daily screenings of films made in New Mexico over the past 100 years. How cool is that?!

The schedule includes some of the most famous movies filmed here, like Independence Day and No Country for Old Men, but we’re more excited about the oldies: Ace in the Hole, The Left-Handed Gun, and, of course, the classic Salt of the Earth.

In all, 33 films will be screened during the fair, with three screenings per day at 10:30am, 2:00pm, and 7:00pm. All showings will be held in the 300-seat auditorium in the African American Performing Arts Center. The news release from the State Fair does not specify how seating will be handled. Presumably, it’s first-come, first-served, so get there early to nab the best seats.

If you take advantage of the Family 5-Pack ticket offer, you can attend three screenings in one day for a mere $4 admission fee. Not to mention experiencing everything else the fair has to offer.

The 2009 New Mexico State Fair begins September 11. The fairgrounds is located in the northeast heights, bounded by San Pedro, Central Ave, Louisiana, and Lomas Blvd.

–Elizabeth Hanes

50-cent Movies Every Monday

Big thanks to Tanya for tipping us off to this great deal!

You know, as hard as we try to be everywhere and do everything around Albuquerque, we just can’t. That’s why we LOVE it when readers send great tips like this one.

Every Monday at the Cinemark Movies 8 and Cinemark Movies West, families of 3 or more enjoy 50¢ admission per person thanks to the “Reel Family Time” promotion! That’s a huge discount off regular theater prices!

Plus, they offer special discounts at the concession stand and also on games. You can enjoy an entire evening of entertainment for cheap!

These are second run movies, but who cares? You still get to see them on the big screen and enjoy the whole moviegoing experience.

You’ll find Cinemark Movies 8 at 4591 San Mateo Blvd NE, while Cinemark Movies West is located at 9201 Coors Rd NW, Albuquerque.

–Elizabeth Hanes

FREE SHORT FILM SCREENING AND TALK

Enjoy a free screening of the short film Chimayo (Guero), followed by a discussion with screenwriter Art Corriveau, at 516 ARTS on Saturday, February 21, at 8:00pm.

This is not a documentary, but rather the narrative story of high school senior Justin, who loses his mother, winds up living in Chimayo with his estranged grandmother and ultimately has to choose between “the healing power of community and faith, and the annihilating abyss of drug addiction.” The film was produced through the New Mexico Filmmakers Intensive and is being screened in conjunction with 516 ARTS’ current exhibition Chicana Badgirls: Las Hociconas.

516 ARTS is located, naturally enough, at 516 Central Ave SW in downtown Albuquerque. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 12:00pm – 5:00pm.

–Elizabeth Hanes

Free films: Oh, the horror!

Here’s something fun. The National Hispanic Cultural Center is hosting a mini-retrospective of Spanish horror films. The first offering is titled El cebo, starring Ladislao Vajda and produced in 1959. The NHCC describes it thusly: “A seemingly common and timid man hides a second pathological personality guilty of kidnapping and murdering little girls.”

The series is called “Vampiros, demonios y siniestros (Vampires, Demons and the Goth)” and includes Spanish horror films produced between 1929 and 2005. All films are presented in Spanish with English subtitles. The series showcases one film each Thursday throughout February. What a goulish antidote to all the syrupy Valentine’s Day stuff!

All films are free. Just pick up a ticket at the NHCC box office on the evening of the event. Each show starts at 7:00pm.

WHAT: Free Spanish horror films
WHEN: Thursdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26, at 7:00pm
WHERE: Bank of America Theatre, National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 4th St SW, at the intersection of Avenida Cesar Chavez and 4th St