100 Years of Film

New Mexico's film history dates back to the earliest years of film technology. One hundred years ago, Thomas Alva Edison's company lensed Indian Day School, the first documented film footage shot on location in New Mexico. While Edison's crew utilized his new camera, the Vitagraph, another Edison invention, the Vitascope, was projecting the earliest of motion pictures in Albuquerque.

After this auspicious yet humble beginning in the Land of Enchantment, many other film industry pioneers followed. In the beginning of the 20th century, D.W. Griffith arrived in Albuquerque with the American Biograph Company, along with up-and-coming actress Mary Pickford. Producer/director Romaine Fielding began his New Mexico career with Lubin Films in Silver City and later moved production headquarters to Las Vegas, N.M. Western star Tom Mix and the Selig Polyscope Company soon followed Fielding to Las Vegas, where they produced 25 films - all directed by the star, Tom Mix.

New Mexico's star continued to rise in the ensuing decades with a number of luminaries who were drawn to the state's clarity of light and palette of colorful and unique landscapes. Between 1930 and 1951 such notables as King Vidor, William Wellman, Henry Hathaway, Elia Kazan, Robert Wise and Billy Wilder shot on location here. Since the inception of the New Mexico Film Commission, now known as the New Mexico Film Office, a concerted effort has been made to promote and facilitate location production in our state. Within the last decade more than 100 features have shot on location along with countless smaller-scale productions (commercials, music videos, documentaries, etc.), creating an economic impact of one billion dollars in the Land of Enchantment.

New Mexico Magazine, in collaboration with the New Mexico Film Office of the Department of Economic Development, proudly presents 100 Years of Filmmaking in New Mexico. The chapters provide a glimpse into the silent era, the Western and the birth of the first state-supported film office, prime shooting locations statewide, science fiction, independent filmmaking, historic vintage movie houses, evolving film technology, interviews with filmmakers who chose to come to New Mexico and a tribute to Greer Garson, New Mexico's Grande Dame of Cinema.

Whether you are a filmmaker or one who enjoys the art of filmmaking, 100 Years of Filmmaking in New Mexico offers a unique piece of cinematic history. Enjoy!