01
Second Saturday Cinema
One film a month that would never otherwise play here: restored classics, world cinema, documentary, and New Mexico work, with conversation afterward.
Ruidoso, New Mexico
A festival with a sense of place.
Four winter days where filmmakers, audiences, and stories from around the world meet in the Sacramento Mountains.
Lincoln County Film Society
The festival is one of three things we do.
RIFF is a program of the Lincoln County Film Society, a newly formed New Mexico nonprofit built to advance the cultural, educational, and economic life of rural southern New Mexico.
In addition to the Ruidoso International Film Festival, the Lincoln County Film Society will provide film crew training sessions, quarterly film screenings, and other events throughout the year.
Year round
Three programs. One mission.
RIFF brings filmmakers and visitors to Lincoln County each February. The work continues in local theaters, classrooms, and crews throughout the year.
02
The Crew Program
Four free, two-day workshops each year for Lincoln County residents, taught by working New Mexico professionals.
03
The Festival
Four days each February. The program that brings the filmmakers, press, and visitors, and helps support the rest of the year.
Closing night
Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts.
An Antoine Predock building with four Dale Chihuly glass installations and 514 seats, set alone on a rise north of town. We use it once, for the closing ceremony and the awards. It is one of the most striking buildings in all of the Southwest.
The main program takes place at Sierra Cinema, a short drive from Midtown and everything else.
The mountain town
Cold air. Warm rooms.
Ruidoso sits at roughly 6,900 feet among pines, peaks, and long views. In February, the pace quiets down, and the conversations have room to stay awhile.
February 17–20, 2027