proposed film production facility for northwest new mexico gets funding

Up to $1 million in state funding has been approved by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for the construction of a film studio in San Juan County.

The funding was included in the much larger $900 million capital outlay bill funding a variety of projects across the state that were also given a green light by the Governor.

Advocates of having a new studio in San Juan County have said that the facility could well prove appealing to Hollywood filmmakers simply because there are currently no large production studios in existence in the northwest corner of the state.

In an interview with the Farmington Daily Times, filmmaker Brent Garcia said such a studio could spur up to $30 in annual spending from outside production companies coming in to use the new San Juan county facility.

Where exactly the new studio will be located, and whether or not the facility will be newly constructed or carved out of an existing structure, remains to be determined.

It is expected that San Juan County officials will decide those questions by the end of this year, with work on the new studio possibly beginning in early 2020.

By Garry Boulard

---