Jan. 31—Amber Dodson knew a person who knew a guy who was somehow involved in the Hollywood film industry.
“That one person I knew wasn’t even in L.A.,” says Dodson, who is now director of the New Mexico Film Office. “She just said, ‘I know a guy.””
That was more than enough for the young Colorado native to make the move west and join the hordes trying to create a life in the film industry.
“It was actually one of the best decisions I ever made,” said Dodson, who previously was film liaison for the city of Albuquerque. “I was in my later 20s, and I walked away from this nice life in Denver, nice quality of life, a home and a great job, but I wanted something more. So I just left, without a job.”
It was a trajectory that started modestly, with TV and video production at DISH Network/Echostar in Denver. When she moved to Los Angeles, she became an assistant to Lawrence Kasanoff at Threshold Entertainment, where “I was basically there watching and learning and being told to do things I didn’t know how to do, but you just had to do it. You’re thrown into the fire, and if you don’t swim, you sink. So it was the most amazing education.”
On the side, she produced several commercials and documentaries before joining a startup and marketing its cloud-based app for studio productions.
Dodson’s move to New Mexico came in 2012, when she and her then-husband opted for a more low-key lifestyle by moving “basically sight unseen to Albuquerque.”
It was a choice that immediately clicked and eventually lured Dodson back to the film industry, this time in the public sector promoting the state and higher-paying job prospects for New Mexicans.
“It’s about setting down roots of an industry that brings prosperity to people,” she said. “It’s really rewarding and inspiring for me to wake up and think my life and my job and my time and my expertise is not just about the bottom line for a corporation. This is about being a public servant.”
When did you first get interested in this business?
“I grew up in a really arts-heavy household. My sister is a professional opera singer. My mom is a pianist, and I was a musician at some point. Arts in general, my family was all about it, and I fell in love with that. In college, I studied history, and so I sort of discovered that I love great untold stories in history that can enlighten the world. I love the arts, and I thought, ‘I want to get into film and production.’ And I love photography and the visual arts. I took classes in film-making and directing and screenwriting as just a fun little side thing to do and did workshops at UCLA and stuff like that.”
What in particular grabbed you about Los Angeles and the movie-making world?
“I was so inspired by L.A., which sounds paradoxical because it seems like such a soulless place, right? But when you’re in the business, and you’re working with people there who are true artists, great writers — these agents and managers who are trying to represent great artists or writers or directors — it’s really exciting to be in on that. You feel like you’re part of something that might add to the world one day, whether you’re helping support someone to come up in the business or helping someone get that role. Or reading a script and thinking, ‘This could be the next big thing.’ It’s fun.”
How did the government work come about, first with the city and now with the state?
“When we moved here, the film industry was pretty slow. And I wasn’t interested in going back into production at all, but I do remember thinking, after living in Albuquerque for a few seasons, ‘I can see why film is here. It’s just perfect for production — the weather, the gorgeous landscapes, the sunshine, the light.’ I could totally see this as a mini-Hollywood. And then a few years later, it started picking up and I just started to get the bug again to get involved and help, because I thought this was a huge opportunity for the state. And I knew so many people who work here who are consummate professionals in their craft, in filmmaking. And then, long story short, I started throwing my hat in the ring for some things and got appointed by Mayor (Tim) Keller to be the film liaison for Albuquerque. It was awesome.”
What do you do in your free time?
“I have two kids who are the center of my life . My son is 13, and my daughter is 5. They are my joy. They are also the reason why I have gray hairs and why I have sleepless nights. I have friends who I love. I found some of my most treasured people in my life have been here in New Mexico. I love to ski. I play the piano to unwind, and just for a hobby and my own self-expression, I’ll brush off an old Chopin piece.”
Do you have a favorite movie?
“Oh, my gosh. It’s such a hard question. A movie that blew me over in terms of the art, the editing, the acting, the concept, the movie ‘Get Out’ is profound. I think Jordan Peele, the director, is phenomenal. The way he tells stories, it just wraps you in. I thought it was transformative filmmaking because it’s a horror film that taps into some of the deepest, systemic crises I think the world is facing right now.”
Who inspires you?
“This is going to sound so contrived, but Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Gloria Steinem. I love, also, women in film who have broken boundaries, like Katheryn Bigelow. She is fierce, she is brilliant, she has broken barriers as a woman director. Some women who are running studios right now. I can’t imagine the battles they have fought to get there and, still, the battles they fought to stay there. They’re changing the narrative.”
What’s your advice to young people interested in following in your footsteps?
“If you have a goal, dream big, go for it. You’re the one who decides if you’re capable or not. No one else does. When you find people who you resonate with, who inspire you, who challenge you to be better, keep those people close to you. I know a big reason why I’m here today is because of the relationships I’ve made, the right decisions I made along the way from my heart and just having some faith that if something’s calling you, there’s a reason for it and go be curious about that. And if it’s not the right thing, it’s OK, pivot. But don’t let that just sit there untapped and unexplored, because life is like a big treasure hunt.”