NM Women in Film Sage Awards TODAY!

Greetings!  

One of our most dynamic groups (NM Women in Film) has their biggest event of the year later today!  Hope you can join them at the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) in Santa Fe:

Santa Fe, NM - NM Women In Film ("NMWIF"), a non-profit chapter organization dedicated to 

supporting women's achievement in film and television, is collaborating with NM Women in the 

Arts to host their annual Sage Award presentation and the 2011 Women in Film & Television 

International Showcase.  Each year, members of NM Women In Film nominate a number of 

strong and creative women from the New Mexico community for the annual Sage Award – an 

accolade created to honor a person of virtue who is an inspiring presence in our community and a 

supporter of women's issues.  This year, NM Women In Film has announced filmmaker, Barbara 

Martinez Jitner, as the award recipient.  Barbara will accept this award during a tribute to her 

work on Saturday, March 5th at 6:00pm at the Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Fe.  Read 

more about Barbara's accomplishments below – and learn about all of the events taking place at 

the CCA in March by viewing the full schedule at: http://www.ccasantafe.org/18Days.pdf

Women in Film & Television International Showcase: March 4th and 5th 

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, and we will be celebrating 

once again with two screenings of the 2011 Women in Film & Television International 

Showcase!  In March of 1911, the United Nations proclaimed March 8th as a celebration of 

women around the globe. WIFTI will present its 6th annual Short Film Festival to commemorate 

the event on two different evenings: March 4th at 7:00pm and March 5th at 7:00pm – the second 

of which will be preceded by our NMWIF Sage Award presentation. The Showcase will 

highlight award-winning films created by women from around the world, which were garnered in 

a competition that was open to all members of WIFTI chapters.  One film was selected from each 

chapter to represent that region, and this year's Showcase will include a film by NMWIF 

member, Debrianna Mansini, whose short animation, "Picking Up Feets," was chosen to 

represent New Mexico. The Showcase is free to all NMWIF members, $5 for NMWA members, 

and $10 for the public. Your ticket stub for either night's screening will also admit you to the 

Sage Award presentation on Saturday, March 5th.   

WHAT: 2011 NM Women in Film Sage Award and Women in Film & Television International  (WIFTI) Showcase

WHERE:  Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe

WHEN:  Friday, March 4th at 7:00pm | Showcase only 

               Saturday, March 5th at 6:00pm | Sage Award Presentation followed by WIFTI 2011 Showcase

WHO:     Open to the public – see above for admission | No RSVP required

2011 Sage Award Winner: BARBARA MARTINEZ JITNER

The NM Women in Film Board of Directors is pleased to announce the recipient of their 2011 

Sage Award:  Barbara Martinez Jitner.  Barbara was nominated because of her inspiring work 

behind the camera and on behalf of her many humanitarian causes around the world.  She 

courageously brought international attention to the genocide of women in Juarez, Mexico, 

through the making of "Bordertown" – a film partially shot in New Mexico that starred Jennifer 

Lopez and Antonio Banderas. She was Executive Producer and 2nd Unit Director on the project, 

which was based on her real-life experiences posing as a factory worker to uncover the dark 

world of poverty, abuse, and ritualized murder in the maquiladoras where so many women were 

killed and never found.  Her hard work both during filming and after production to expose the 

on-going murders and the continuous cover up by Mexican authorities was remarkable and has 

garnered much acclaim.  Throughout her research and during production, Barbara and her crew 

faced a great deal of adversity, including death threats and other hardships; and her subsequent 

work with UNICEF and Amnesty International to help these women and their families has 

provided her a remarkable voice in the international community.  She and her partner, filmmaker, 

Gregory Nava, have a home in Santa Fe and share time between New Mexico and Los Angeles.  

Barbara is a professional screenwriter, producer and director, and the first Latina ever to be 

nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Emmy as an executive producer/writer/director of the 

miniseries, "American Family – Journey of Dreams," a PBS program that made history as the 

first Latino family drama on broadcast television when it debuted in 2002.  She is the President 

of El Norte Productions and this year is writing and executive producing a mini-series for HBO.

For more information about NM Women in Film, please visit http://www.nmwif.com/