Silver City Community Film Festival gears up for screenings.
Now in its second year, the Silver City Community Film Festival hosts three days of regionally-made films from October 2 – October 5, 2025.
All screenings will be at the Silco Theater, 311 N. Bullard St., Silver City.
Kim Ryan, film festival director and cultural coordinator at the Silco, told Desert Exposure that this year the festival grew from locally-made films to a regionally-made submission process for filmmakers. She said that though there are film festivals all over the world, she thinks it makes sense to create a new film festival in Silver City because the state is in the process of becoming a serious film-making destination.
“It seems like a logical place for a film festival. Just with local submissions, we had over 30 films. And mostly, people pulled them out of their hard drives already made. We have a strong art community here,” Ryan said.
This year’s festival will screen 58 films by 44 film makers. There will also be panel discussions and Q&A’s, giving the audience opportunity to talk with film makers.
One of those films, “American Hemp Farmer,” a documentary made by local filmmaker Doug Fine, will screen at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 3, 2025.
Fine, who is an author, said the film is about regenerative living through hemp.
He said this is the third festival for the film. He called making “American Hemp Farmer,” a “passion project.”
Fine made his film by following three digital-age farming families for a year as they attempted to grow a healthy hemp crop and business while contending with extreme climate events. "American Hemp Farmer" is a look at regenerative living for a sustainable planet.
Fine said the idea for the film came out of an instance when he and his family were nearly evacuated when the Silver Fire grew to more than 100,000 acres in 2013 in the Gila National Forest. Fine was already researching his book of the same name, "American Hemp Farmer."
When he and his family got ready for a potential evacuation, he began to film the process.
But Fine has a sense of humor. When asked about being a goat farmer, he defined himself as "an employee of goats."
Trying to evacuate a goat farm is a bit tricky and in the midst of the mayhem, he began to film the process. Out of that, "American Hemp Farmer," the documentary, was born.
Fine is passionate about changing lifestyle in order to save the planet. He said one of the bonuses of hemp is that there are several applications for different parts of the plant.
“Hemp seed, I eat every day and crush into oil,” Fine said.
He said the seeds contain 30 grams of protein and are omega-balanced. He said he and his family use the seed for yogurt and oatmeal.
He said the flower portion of hemp contains CBD.
“Hemp has everything good in the cannabis plant but the THC, so it’s family friendly,” he said.
Hemp fiber can go into clothes. It's also possible to create hemp plastic. Fine said one of the best things about hemp plastic is "it's not going to be in the landfill forever."
Fine said hemp can also be used for home building. He said all of these applications are talked about in the film.
Fine believes hemp farming has the potential to change the trajectory of climate change. The effects of climate change are also something he and his family increasingly live with. He said he and his family had to evacuate this past summer during the Trout Fire, which started in June 2025 and burned close to 50,000 acres in the Gila National Forest.
Ryan called "American Hemp Farmer," "a really fun and interesting documentary.
"He has a strong personality and is a great host. He's engaging and brings fun to the topic at hand," Ryan said.
Ryan said there are "a lot of great films this year.
"We're excited," she said.
