Tiguex Productions LLC

As Seen in The New Mexico Business Weekly Magazine Friday, March 19, 2010

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2010/03/22/story8.html

As Seen in The Albuquerque Journal Monday, March 22, 2010

Help State Grow Its Own Film Industry

By Tito Chavez
Founder, New Mexico Film Producers Association
Since its inception in 2002, the New Mexico film incentive program has been a success by most measures.
It has brought attention to New Mexico as a filmmaking center. It has brought millions in revenue to the state. It has resulted in thousands of hours of work for film crews, and millions in income taxes to the state treasury.
It has attracted much of the necessary infrastructure to further the industry, including soundstages. While there are still some questions about the actual numbers and economic benefits, we, as part of the filmmaking community, have no doubt the incentives have been a positive to the state in an otherwise down economy.
But the state does face challenges. There has been a backlash against the film incentives from some state legislators who remain unconvinced of the benefits to the state. And there is growing competition from other states that are trying to lure the same productions to their states by creating increasingly larger incentives for filmmakers. Unfortunately, this results in a race to the bottom of the economic ladder as states give more and more away to filmmakers.
We feel that the state must make some changes in direction to prevent the downward spiral.
First, it must make the incentive process more transparent. Taxpayers need to know exactly where their money is going and what benefits it is reaping. The New Mexico Film Producers Association feels this is crucial to maintaining the viability of the incentive program, and it supports complete transparency in the process.
Second, it is time for the state to support the local filmmaking community, particularly the above-the-line component. For the most part, local producers, filmmakers, screenwriters and actors have watched from the sidelines as the state lavishes attention on out-of-state filmmakers. producers and productions, and focuses on jobs for film crews.
There have been local producers who have benefited from the rebates. But to our knowledge, only one native New Mexican producer has actually qualified for, and received, money from the state to finance a film, while tens of millions have gone to out-of-state producers.
Our goal with the association is to change that. There is no reason the creative community of New Mexico cannot develop, package, produce and distribute movies made in New Mexico.
This is crucial. The movie business is fickle. Hollywood tends to go where it can make its movies easily and cheaply. For right now, that is New Mexico. But who knows in five or 10 years?
After the state has invested tens of millions of dollars, it would be a shame to see empty soundstages and out-of-work crews in a few years because of our lack of foresight. The New Mexico Film Producers Association believes it is imperative to foster the local creative community so there is a bedrock for production here that is not dependent on the whims of Hollywood.
The association also realizes we cannot depend on the state to do our work. The production community in New Mexico must unite, and we believe the association can be the vehicle to do that.
Our broad goals as an association are to advocate on behalf of local producers at the city, county, state and federal levels. We are glad to work with the other groups in the industry, but we also realize they don’t always speak for us and our particular concerns, and it necessary to have an independent voice.
The association also supports training and education for producers, so they have the knowledge and expertise to bring movies from an idea to a finished product. We want to raise the bar so our producers can compete with those from out of state.
We want producers to be well-schooled in the business side of making movies and provide access to the resources, financing, distribution and people needed to make that happen. We want access to the state’s film fund to be a reality for local filmmakers, not an anomaly.
By creating a more expansive view of what the film industry can be here, we increase the potential financial benefits to the state. As legislators and the public see they are funding a home-grown industry, not just a playground for out-of-state productions, we will enlist the support necessary to have a thriving film business.
We ask for your support and participation in this process.

STATE & LOCAL BUSINESS DOWNFALLS
Unite New Mexico! Car shows are a New Mexico tradition and custom that started before most car owners were born. That doesn’t seem to matter to most participants. New Mexico Car Shows attract all walks of life making them a multi-generational event that brings families and communities together. A low rider car expresses its art form through highly detailed paint jobs and chrome so shiny it burns the naked eye. This type of art show is backed by a great cause and almost every corner Wal-Mart jumped on board to host car shows in their efforts to raise money for New Mexico Non-Profit organizations in Albuquerque last year.
Tiguex Productions LLC is a New Mexico based film Production Company owned by Tito Chavez a Chicano filmmaker from the South Valley. The main objective of Tiguex Productions LLC is to generate film funding, attract and accommodate out-of-state film productions and solidify proper distribution for New Mexico Cast and Crew film projects in New Mexico. With no film distribution in the State of New Mexico it creates non employment challenges for Film Producers from New Mexico.
One of Tiguex Productions ventures is promoting car shows to spawn funds for New Mexico film productions and as in the past to initiate funding for New Mexico non-profit organizations. NM Voices For Children, Juvenile Detention Center, Ballut Abyad Shriners, La Plazita Institute Gang Intervention and Casa de Amigas to name a few benefited from Tiguex Productions events in 2009.
Lowrider Magazine is owned by Source Interlink Media in California. Every year the magazine has a national Car Show tour that showcases the best cars in the nation. This tour has not recently stopped in New Mexico until Tiguex offered the idea to the magazine last year. The estimated gross profit of a car show of this magnitude $150,000 with 5,000 in attendance.
Tiguex had originally planned to promote the Lowrider magazine tour in October 2009 with Expo New Mexico as the venue, however unforeseen clean up costs for the State Fair put the show over budget for that year. Tiguex postponed the show to 2010. In spite of this shortfall Tiguex continued to work with Expo New Mexico for an October 2010 event but the process has been a tedious wearisome circle of unanswered questions by the venue and has yet to be successful in booking the event with the committee at Expo New Mexico.
While negotiating the venue for a 2010 event Lowrider Magazine has announced that a promoter not from New Mexico has sanctioned ten city stops including Albuquerque. This is a prime example of government and local business downfalls due to non-communication. With our State $600-million-plus budget shortfall it would only make sense to keep the revenue generated from a show here in the New Mexico Economy. I assume that would be the main interests of New Mexico residents.
Tiguex Productions has worked tirelessly on a partnership with Lowrider Magazine and the local community to lose it to an outside source. Out of state promoters recognize the lack of communication and alliances within our government and local businesses and profit on our New Mexico resident’s behalf. Having a New Mexico business like Tiguex Productions or any New Mexico business promoting this Lowrider Magazine event all profits and jobs would have stayed here in New Mexico. It is imperative to our state economy to keep New Mexico businesses flourishing. We allow out-of state promoters and producers to profit from New Mexico customs and traditions and enable the promoter to spend profits in the promoters’ home state due to non or mis-communication between government and local businesses. The State of New Mexico has to support local business and local film productions by hindering outside dealings from coming in to The Land of Enchantment to do work New Mexico businesses are rightly equipped to execute. I am asking all elected officials within the State of New Mexico and Governor Richardson’s Administration for assistance in addressing and resolving these issues.
Tito Chavez
Tiguex Productions LLC