By K. Jan Wafful
Otero County Film Liaison

Starting Friday, May 30th the Otero County Film Office (OCFO) liaison, will be traveling northward to represent Otero County at the weekend New Mexico Film Office activities.  On Friday at noon, Otero County will be present for the State Liaison Network meeting with the NM Film Office. This meeting is to inform, train, and answer the questions and concerns that our state network community liaisons encounter when scouting and helping all filmmakers who come to their communities with the prospect of possibly filming in their jurisdictions.

OCFO has always been proactive in helping new liaisons navigate their way in the industry. All offices must be sanctioned on local and state levels, and all must operate under the liaison rules and guidelines set for them in booklet form by the NM Film Office with state leadership approval. All liaison services provided are a part of the states’ economic development, and under state EDD these services are provided to the industry free of charge. The film project money spent in each community by these filmmakers can provide real economic development in New Mexico. Each $1 spent in communities can be re-spent within the same community up to 8 times and remains locally in the community in the form of products, goods, and services purchased — not to mention the obvious lodging and eating out expenses while filming.

The New Mexico Film & Media Conference 2025 now returns annually. This conference will bring filmmakers, crew, businesses, studios and industry leaders together for the first time since pandemic recovery and industry strikes. Featured activities will be leadership panel discussions, vendor presentations, networking opportunities and career development sessions designed to support the NM Film Industry and bring industry members together to highlight, collaborate and shape the future film industry of New Mexico. The Otero County Film Office expects to return with new information to plan for the future building of location filmmaking that pertains to all of the more rural southern New Mexico communities.

On the local level, a report on the conference will be available from the OCFO liaison at the next quarterly Actor’s Spotlight Social at the Alamogordo Chamber conference room from 4-6 pm on July 25th, 2025.

These quarterly meetings are open to the public and provide networking, support and training to all who want to find entry-level opportunities in the local film industry.

For more information contact Jan Wafful at the OCFO in the Chamber of Commerce or email to: jwafful@gmail.com