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New Mexico’s tax incentive program launched in 2003, but the state had already been home to a plethora of productions. More recently, through an official film partnership program, companies including Netflix and NBCUniversal have made long-term commitments to the Land of Enchantment. The crew base and facilities in state continue to improve, and New Mexico’s surprisingly varied landscape and architecture are a cost-effective stand-in for a variety of locations.
The drive to bring production to the state remains strong. Tax incentives remain roughly the same as last year with a base 25% and the potential to add up to 15% more with various options. Productions can earn an additional 5% incentive for working at a qualified production facility, 10% more for going to specific zones outside of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and 5% more for a pilot, among other opportunities.
Continuous improvements and innovation have been the guiding force for both current and upcoming industry programs designed to benefit the biz as well.
Steve Graham, director of the New Mexico film office, says they’re specifically “focused on attracting productions and expanding the digital media sector and solidifying [their] position as a leading creative hub.”
He also calls innovation within the industry a “top priority,” noting that creative collaboration between the in-state tech experts and productions is a great way to further the reach and symbiotic relationship between the two fields.
The established tax incentives cover traditional film and television production, as well as video games and commercials. The more work that comes to the state, the better. Though filming is down — especially in California —New Mexico is staying busy.
Coming to Cannes via New Mexico, in fact, is A24’s “Eddington,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone, and directed by Ari Aster. The film plays in competition at the festival.
Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, the duo behind the phenomenon “Stranger Things” — which has also shot in New Mexico — recently wrapped “The Boroughs” in the state as well. The project stars Jena Malone.
Other recent productions in New Mexico include the 2025 film “Opus,” starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, the fourth season of “The Cleaning Lady” and the first seasons of both “Ransom Canyon” and “Duster.”
New Mexico-based scout and location manager Clay Peres has been in the industry for 20 years. He’s worked on projects including “Outer Range” and best picture Oscar-winner “Oppenheimer.” Peres says he’s “seen the crews grow exponentially [in the state] and just get better and better at what they do. People that come from other states, other countries, are always impressed by the New Mexico crews.”
Peres also sites travel times as key. “Access for productions to get to set is another positive about coming to New Mexico for film workers,” Peres notes of the easy-to-cover distances, adding that “the cost of living is great and enticing for people to come here to live and work and it’s why we have great directors coming here.”
AMC’s “Dark Winds” has been in New Mexico since the series’ debut, and will be returning for an upcoming fourth season as well. Series executive producer Tina Elmo says they always wanted to film in New Mexico since the land is such an important part of their story, but that the talent has become the most substantial component now.
She sites Santa Fe and Albuquerque in particular as huge boons to the process. “[They] have become these unbelievable powerful hubs of incredible talent that have left California and New York, and now there’s a community here. That also helped us in the talent base, too, for actors,” she notes. Elmo can’t imagine taking the show out of state.
The New Mexico Media Arts Collective strives to educate and train crew members. With two brick and mortar locations poised to open in the future, right now MAC focuses on crew training throughout the state and in conjunction with other partnerships. Their four-course program includes information on CPR and firearms safety within industry standards.
Mateo Frazier, MAC’s executive director, says, “We’re not replacing the industry, we’re reinforcing it with future-ready foundation.” By identifying areas of need for productions, the goal is to then re-train people with applicable experience to transition their skillset into the entertainment industry.
“We have to just be open to the fact that things are changing, and they’re changing quickly,” says Frazier, “but at the same time, just do our best to create opportunities for people to continue to participate.”
Frazier notes that their goal is to collaborate with the union partners to both create work and “to future-proof our industry” — it’s not just how New Mexicans can aid the industry now, but how the entire process will ultimately benefit both productions and crew down the road.
In 2022, Cinelease purchased and rebranded a local studio as Cinelease Studios— Albuquerque. In the time since, they’ve poured money into its renovation, with their most recent construction phase ending in 2024.
Gannon Murphy, who oversees Cinelease Studios of North America, says they’ve brought everything up to code, have reconstituted parking and traffic flow, and rehabbed the office spaces. They also opened a new studio entrance on the opposite side of the freeway, adding signage and a guard shack as well.
Murphy says the property had been well-known prior to Cinelease’s purchase, but “the difference was we had the opportunity to make it easier for [productions] so that’s what we started with, safety blending into ease.”
Next, the studio will focus on redesigning the cosmetic components to further improve the production process on the lot.
Despite the industrywide slow down, Murphy says the studio is fully occupied to the point of turning productions away, so it makes sense that the next agenda item is expansion.
Murphy acknowledges the tax incentives are the big initial draw to New Mexico, but that’s not the only reason productions stay there. “There’s been a lot of time and effort put into developing additional crew base in the state and we’re seeing the fruit of that now,” says Murphy, who adds that the proximity to Los Angeles is another major benefit. “It’s an easy flight over and that helps in terms of both logistics, getting equipment and personnel out, but also just in terms of talent, being able to jump home at a moment’s notice.”
Proximity can be particularly helpful when one state can stand in for so many other locations. Graham says that while no other place looks like New Mexico, the state has “doubled for everything from Philadelphia to Mars.” He adds that “every major studio has shot here and a lot of the well-known independent production companies have as well.”
Graham credits the film partner program with helping keep New Mexico on the map with productions. “A lot of the states are playing catch-up, and we’re already here,” says Graham. “We have the infrastructure, we have the crew, we have the locations, and we’re ready for business.”
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