More than 10000 people attend Las Cruces International Film Festival

Saturday marked the fourth day of the Las Cruces International Film Festival.

Thousands of moviegoers watched independent movies and attended workshops led by film actors.

Event organizers told ABC-7 the festival broke it’s attendance record this year.

Those who attended said it’s a great event that can boost the city’s economy and film-making industry.

“We had over 200 entries and we ended up picking about 130 of those films,” said Jenn Garcia, artistic director for the festival.

Garcia told ABC-7 130 independent films were showcased throughout the five-day event.

The films ranged from documentaries to shorts and even animation.

“This events bigger than what we’ve been having, so it’s great. The festival has continued to grow,” Garcia said.

Garcia told ABC-7 more than 10,000 people attended throughout the festival.

“I actually came from San Franciso, which is really arts heavy and when I came here I didn’t think there would be anything here of that caliber, but this event in itself is pretty fantastic,” said attendee David Godniz.

But the film festival wasn’t just about movies.

Fans got to hear speakers including Cybill Shepherd, Rj Mitte from the series “Breaking Bad” and Bill Boyd who starred in “Lord of the Rings.”

Organizers are also taking it one step further.

Film Las Cruces recently asked the city council for $400,000 in tax breaks to continue building and improving sets in the city.

“As a filmmaker, that rebate would be very helpful to me and would allow me to put more money into my movie and it will attract more filmmakers,” said executive director of the film festival, Ross Marks.

If approved by the council, the move will not only attract filmmakers from the outside but
but grow future filmmakers in the area,” Marks said.

“We’ve been getting a lot of cool actors and celebrities and creators coming in, so I really hope they continue to have this festival and bring in more people that are willing to aspire younger artists,” attendee Christina Dupree said.

The City Council is set to vote on that tax break and incentive program later this month.

The festival will continue Sunday to present awards to the participants from 10:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Cineport Theaters located in the Mesilla Valley Mall.