With a vote from the New Mexico State Legislature providing $1 million in funding, a new film studio is on track to be built in San Juan County.
Exactly where the facility will be located remains to be seen, but the project is seen as a first important step towards attracting independent and Hollywood filmmakers to northwest New Mexico.
Previous reports have indicated that a building measuring at least 7,000 square feet would be needed to house a sound stage, storage, and set-building space. County officials have also expressed an interest in acquiring a site with enough room to additionally establish a backlot for building large outdoor sets.
As discussed, the new studio could either be built as an entirely new structure, or carved out of an existing warehouse-type space.
It is thought that once the state funding is officially secured, a decision regarding exactly what kind of facility will be built will be made later this summer, with the actual studio opening next year.
Although compared with Albuquerque and Las Cruces, film production is regarded as a relatively new industry in northwest New Mexico, a movie called The Love of a Navajo, about a romance between a visitor from the East coast and a Native American woman, was made in 1922 with location shots taken in Aztec, Farmington, and Shiprock.
By Garry Boulard
