Las Cruces International Film Festival opens Wednesday

Celebrities are preparing to walk the red carpet Wednesday night for the Las Cruces International Film Festival.

The first showing of the 5-day event happened Wednesday night at the Cineport 10 Movie Theater at the Mesilla Valley Mall.

Cast members attended the screening of the independent film The Tiger Hunter.

The stars included Jon Heder, who you may know for his role as Napoleon Dynamite, as well as Karen David and Rizwan Manji, who appeared in “Wolf of Wall Street.”

Organizers say they are expecting about 8,000 people to attend the festivities all weekend long.

They say that’s a big deal for the small city of Las Cruces.

“Aside from giving people the chance to see what we have from a tourist and economic development stand point, we also have the chance to showcase to film makers what we have to offer as far as our settings. There’s so much to do in this area,” Marsha San Filippo, producer of the Las Cruces Internaional Film Festival, said.

Dozens of movies will be playing at Cineport 10 every day until Sunday.

Click here to ticket information.