The Santa Fe Opera’s documentary film, The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next is an official selection of the 2023 Santa Fe International Film Festival

Santa Fe, NM — The Santa Fe Opera is thrilled to announce the documentary film, The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next, is an official selection of the 2023 Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF). The screening will take place Sunday, October 22 at 10:00 AM at the Center for Contemporary Arts Cinema in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Selected from a pool of more than 3,800 entries from 101 countries, the film is represented in the following sections: Documentary, Filmmaker in Attendance, Indigenous, New Mexico, Special Presentation, and Women Directors. Individual tickets for the screening are $15; tickets and more information can be found at https://boxoffice.santafe.film/events/thepueblooperaprogramandwhatcouldbenext/

Directed by Beverly R. Singer of Santa Clara Pueblo and produced by the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council (POCC) in collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera, the film chronicles the 50-year history between the Santa Fe Opera and the Pueblo and Tribal Nations of New Mexico and how the opera’s innovative programming has inspired Pueblo and Tribal youth to learn about opera, attend performance rehearsals and perform at the Santa Fe Opera. The documentary explores the program’s future, including initiatives to expand its reach to more communities and engage a wider audience in the power of opera as a tool for cultural exchange and understanding. Says opera director Peter Sellars, “Fifty years is probably a second and a half, but it’s also a time a child grows up and becomes an adult and leader of a community. It’s a human span and it’s a generation…by the age of 50 ready for a larger responsibility, a larger emotion, a larger imagination of what could be next.”

About the Pueblo Opera Program — The Santa Fe Opera’s 2023 Season marked the 50th anniversary of the Pueblo Opera Program (POP). Since 1973, more than 100,000 children and families from New Mexico’s 23 Sovereign Nations have attended the Santa Fe Opera. The Pueblo Opera Program thrives on the shared value and belief in the power of storytelling. It is led by an advisory council that includes many past participants and Tribal Elders from around the state. Over the years POP members have participated in Youth Nights, student-produced operas, fashion shows, and the historic offering of a corn dance before and during performances of Doctor Atomic in 2018.

About the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council — In the 2018 Festival Season, audiences at the opera experienced an unprecedented and historical expression of community as members of San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo and Tesuque Pueblo joined together to offer a corn dance before and during performances of Doctor Atomic. All involved wished to continue to explore opportunities for working together. The work began with a series of gatherings that resulted in the formation of the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council, composed of seven members from San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo and Tesuque Pueblo. Their mission is to share their living indigenous cultural existence through knowledge of prayer, dance, song, music and art.

About the Santa Fe International Film Festival — Running October 18 through 22, 2023, the 15th annual Santa Fe International Film Festival flows throughout downtown Santa Fe and its Railyard District day and night at six theaters with a program of 167 top international films, Indigenous films, USA independents, its Green Earth Program, special screenings, documentaries, industry conversations, exciting panels and events. With more than 100 visiting filmmakers, SFiFF has been dubbed “a young Sundance” by IndieWire. Individual tickets for all screenings and events are available to the public at https://boxoffice.santafe.film/event-list/

For Calendar Keepers — The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next film screening at the Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF)
Directed by Beverly R. Singer, Santa Clara Pueblo
Produced by the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council (POCC) in collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera
Screening Sunday, October 22, 2023, 10:00 am at the Center for Contemporary Arts Cinema, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Who: Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF) and the Pueblo Opera Cultural Council in collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera
What: The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next film screening at the Santa Fe International Film Festival (SFiFF)
Where: Center for Contemporary Arts Cinema, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505
When: Sunday, October 22, 2023 | 10:00 AM | Running time: 60 minutes
Tickets: $15 Individual Tickets: https://boxoffice.santafe.film/events/thepueblooperaprogramandwhatcouldbenext/

Support for The Pueblo Opera Program: And What Could Be Next is generously provided by the Hankins Foundation, Inc., Principal Sponsor of Education at the Santa Fe Opera; PNC Foundation; a Civic Practice Grant from OPERA America’s Opera Fund; and Newman’s Own Foundation, in memory of Arthur Newman.

About The Santa Fe Opera — The Santa Fe Opera annually draws 85,000 people from New Mexico and around the globe. Nestled atop a mountain vista in northern New Mexico, the company’s iconic Crosby Theatre is open on three sides, allowing visitors to enjoy performances complemented by the elements. Since 1957 the company has presented over 2,000 performances of 179 operas by 91 composers spanning five centuries of opera, creating a legacy of 45 American premieres and 18 world premieres. In November 2022, the company was recognized as “Festival of the Year” at the International Opera Awards.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at the Santa Fe Opera — Opera has the power to speak truth, broaden perspectives and invite empathy. The Santa Fe Opera is committed to the continuous work of becoming an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization and incorporating the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. Our goal is to create a joyful and engaging environment in which a diverse community of artists, staff, volunteers and audiences alike belong.

The mission of the Santa Fe Opera is to advance the operatic art form by presenting ensemble performances of the highest quality in a unique setting with a varied repertory of new, rarely performed, and standard works; to ensure the excellence of opera’s future through apprentice programs for singers, technicians and arts administrators; and to foster an understanding and appreciation of opera among a diverse public.