New Mexico’s special academy is one step closer to training workers in the film and television industry, and the state’s top officials will be in Albuquerque on Wednesday.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and others gathered at the Albuquerque Rail Yards to announce the location will be the main site for the New Mexico Media Academy. There will also be a satellite campus in Las Cruces to serve the southern part of the state.
Lawmakers approved $40 million for the effort in 2022, and many postsecondary institutions that offer film and media programs have agreed to a core curriculum for students.
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State officials said the move is to meet a growing need for trained professionals for an industry that generated $1.5 billion in direct film production spending over the past two fiscal years. They say the industry supports about 8,000 jobs statewide and that a record 109 productions were filmed in New Mexico last year.
Those productions were AMC’s “Better Call Saul” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the state’s special film academy will be headquartered on the railroad tracks in Albuquerque.
Filmmaker Chad Burris has been named executive director of the academy. An attorney and member of the Chickasaw Nation, Burris’ production credits include Sterlin Harjo’s “Four Sheets to the Wind,” Michael Winterbottom’s “Killer Inside Me,” and most recently, Billy Luther’s “Frybread Face and Me,” which opened in the South. from the southwest
Burris said in a statement that the academy represents an opportunity for New Mexico to produce talent and content “on a scale never before imagined.”
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“I look forward to making this a hub for all local talent and a launch pad for new ideas,” he said.
Once completed, the academy will offer hands-on training and specific craftsmanship. Virtual reality and extended production will be among the focal points.
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Central New Mexico Community College will be located at the Rail Yards with the academy. Local voters approved $7 million to expand the university’s film training program, and the funding will go toward the design and construction of the Rail Yards program.
New Mexico State University and Doña Ana Community College are partners on the southern New Mexico campus.
The goal is to admit 1,000 students each year, with Netflix, NBCUniversal and 828 Productions working with the academy and offering students paid studies.