Since 1991 Basement Films has been a volunteer-run micro-cinema supporting experimental and under-represented forms of media making through public screenings, performances, workshops, and lectures. We often collaborate with community organizations such as the Harwood Art Center, The University of New Mexico, NM Highlands University, Amy Biehl High School, the Outpost Performance Space, and the newly founded 516 Arts Space.
Basement Films serves as a resource for artists, filmmakers, and students interested in exploring new and experimental approaches to moving image art. Additionally, Basement Films has hosted a high school internship program that exposes younger students to the possibilities of alternative voices in a media saturated world.
Basement Films also produces an annual experimental film festival titles Experiments in Cinema (now in its 7th year) that showcases contemporary, international experimental cinema. This program occurs every year in April in in Albuquerque, NM.
As New Mexico re-imagines itself as the new Hollywood, Basement Films is reaching “deep into our mission” to broaden popular notions of what a film might be. To this end, Basement Films is interested in championing communities of cinematic experimentalists (regional and international), and we feel it is our responsibility to keep the experimentalists part of the current, statewide conversation about movie making.