Encore: The 3-Minute Film Festival

3-Minute Film Festival

Presented by the Santa Fe Reporter
Sun. January 9 | 5 pm

At the tail-end of 2021, Santa Fe Reporter triumphantly revived their 3-Minute Film Festival, screening a sold-out show at CCA. Due to popular demand, we’re bringing back the 18-film showcase for a regular screening on Sunday, Jan. 9 at 5 pm. The evening will begin with a short introduction by juror and CCA Head of Cinema Programming, Luke Henley. The program features films created by local filmmakers and artists that clock in at 3 minutes or less, spanning a variety of genres and themes.

Covid-19 Protocols: CCA requires proof of vaccination or recent negative test. Read more.

3-Minute Film Festival Winners:

First Place: Minecraft Santa Fe by Ehren Kee Natay and Dylan Tenorio
Second Place: Flowering by Daniel Kathalynas
Third Place: A Deep and Gorgeous Thirst by Hosho McCreesh

In Memoriam

Walk in Beauty by Ehren Kee Natay
Monsters – Mara Padilla by Dylan Tenorio and Katy Gross

Honorable Mention

Hack the Doc by Kelley Van Dilla
BLANK by Roxanne Darling
Bonanza Creek by James Lutz
Couch Potato by Bliss Holloway
Natation by Dave Perlis
Squirrel Slip by Patty Bilbro and Lon Swantz
NO LAND by Shannon Latham
For a Time Beyond Language by Tracy Szatan
Shhh by Renzo Black
How and When to Use an Eraser by Dara Yen Elerath
Outer West by Jake Leister
Artistic Pursuits by Bronson Dunphy
ASL Sounds by Joanne Lefrak/SITE Santa Fe

2024 Copyright Center for Contemporary Arts – Santa Fe. All rights reserved.

The Board of Directors for the Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe (CCA) has voted to close the organization after serving the Santa Fe and northern New Mexico community on its forty-fourth year of operation. The decision was reached after careful consideration of options presented during its current strategic planning initiative.

“Closing a cherished, community organization like CCA is one of the most difficult decisions a board can make,” said David Muck, CCA Board Chair. “However, we simply couldn’t secure the level of individual donations required to achieve the high quality of programming and exhibitions envisioned by CCA’s professional staff and board of directors,” he continued.

Many nonprofits in the U.S. were hit hard by Covid and CCA is a good example. The CCA Cinema closed during Covid, and attendance was slow to resume, reflecting national downward trends in moviegoing post-Covid as reported in multiple news outlets, such as IndieWire and others. In 2023, the organization forecast the cinema to perform at only 50% of pre-Covid levels, resulting in monthly losses. Though grants and individual donations to the organization were up significantly in 2022 and 2023, they simply weren’t enough to make up the difference in the annual budget and cover both current and planned exhibitions and operations.

“This tough decision did not come lightly,” said Danyelle Means, CCA Executive Director and Head Curator. “For a nonprofit institution that operates independently of state support, the annual donations needed to sustainably continue operating was not enough, especially in the wake of challenges from pandemic closures and reduced attendance,” Means continued.

CCA did have its share of recent successes: CCA Executive Director Danyelle Means had secured a three-year grant of $100,000 per year from the Ford Foundation, with an option to renew for another three-year period. The organization was also the recipient of a $50,000 inaugural grant from Ruth Arts Foundation, as well as other granting organizations. Self-Determined, a 2022 CCA exhibition, was listed as one of the world’s Top 50 Exhibitions of 2022 by Hyperallergic magazine and CCA’s new monthly Closer Looks cinema series was a hit with film enthusiasts.

The CCA board of directors considered closing the organization in December of 2021, but voted to remain open in 2022 in hopes of a recovery post-Covid. However, despite the hard work of CCA staff and the accomplishments like the ones mentioned above, the shuttered period during which the cinema was closed proved too challenging to overcome. CCA Cinema’s final day of public operations is Thursday, April 6, and all upcoming CCA gallery exhibitions and public programs are cancelled.