News and Articles

01/26/2023

Santa Fe Named #1 on MovieMaker’s Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2023!

SANTA FE, NM – Santa Fe Film Office announced today that Santa Fe is #1 Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2023 in North America!

This year’s list, below, features the return of Atlanta, Georgia, to the top of the list of Big Cities, after Albuquerque, N.M., held the honor for an unprecedented four years. And for the first time, Santa Fe, N.M. has moved to the top of the list of Smaller Cities and Towns.

“A huge congratulations to Atlanta and Santa Fe, two outstanding film hubs that offer very different but equally thrilling opportunities,” said Tim Molloy, editor of MovieMaker Magazine. In addition, “I'm so excited for people to see Santa Fe at the top and recognize what an amazing community has been created, with the familiarity of a small-town and all the options in the world.”

MovieMaker compiles its annual list based on surveys, production spending, tax incentives, additional research, and personal visits, whenever possible.

Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, Executive Director of the Santa Fe Film Office stated, “Since the inception of the Santa Fe Film Office in 2016, the momentum of productions filmed in the Santa Fe region has been one record year after the next. Our continued growth of local resources and diverse locations are a huge draw for independent films, documentaries, commercials, television, streaming series, and feature films. Santa Fe has become a much-desired creative destination and is a gateway for filming in other northern communities, like Las Vegas, Los Alamos, Taos, and Abiquiu.”

Read the full story:
https://www.moviemaker.com/best-places-to-live-and-work-as-a-moviemaker-2023/

MovieMaker’s 2023 Best Cities to Live and Work as a Moviemaker:

25. TIE Fort Worth, Texas
25. TIE Orlando, Florida
24. Kansas City, Missouri
23. St. Petersburg, Florida
22. San Antonio, Texas
21. Houston, Texas
20. Dallas, Texas
19. Tulsa, Oklahoma
18. Cleveland, Ohio
17. Memphis, Tennessee (jumps up three places since last year)
16. Missoula, Montana (joins the list for the first time)
15. Salt Lake City, Utah (joins the list for the first time)
14. Baltimore, Maryland
13. Boston, Massachusetts
12. Austin, Texas
11. Cincinnati, Ohio
10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (joins the Big Cities list after previously being No. 4 in Smaller Cities and Towns)
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
8. Calgary, Alberta, Canada (jumps up two places since last year)
7. Chicago, Illinois
6. Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5. Albuquerque, New Mexico
4. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
3. New Orleans, Louisiana (joins Big Cities list after previously being No. 1 in Smaller Cities and Towns)
2.Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (jumps up four places since last year)
1. Atlanta, Georgia (jumps up two places since last year to return to No. 1 for the first time since 2018)

MovieMaker’s Best Small Cities and Towns to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2023:

10. TIE The Hudson Valley, New York towns of Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Newburgh (join the list for the first time)
9. Ashland, Oregon
8. Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada (joins the list for the first time)
7. Las Cruces, New Mexico (joins the list for the first time)
6. Knoxville, Tennessee
5. Palm Springs, California (joins the list for the first time)
4. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
3. Savannah, Georgia
2. Wilmington, North Carolina (jumps up six places since last year)
1. Santa Fe, New Mexico (jumps up two places to land at No. 1 for the first time)

MovieMaker is dedicated to the art and craft of making movies. The list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2023 appears in the new issue, with Creed III star and director Michael B. Jordan on the cover.