The Las Cruces International Film Festival adds Michelle Hurd to its superstar lineup. Hurd will receive the “Outstanding Achievement in Drama” award during the festival awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 12 in the Rio Grande Theatre in downtown Las Cruces. She also will headline a panel “Star Trek: Boldly Going from Script to Screen" from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at the Rio Grande Theatre.
Hurd recently starred opposite Patrick Stewart for three seasons on the series “Star Trek: Picard,” She also starred alongside Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell in “Anyone But You” and the independent film “Somewhere in Montana” with Graham McTavish, in theaters now.
“Michelle Hurd has a long and successful career culminating with her work on several great TV series,” said Ross Marks, New Mexico State University Creative Media Institute professor and festival executive director. “She is a talented and multi-faceted actress. We are proud to add her to an already stellar line-up for the 2025 film festival which includes Academy Award winner Helen Hunt.”
The 10th annual festival runs April 9-13 at the Allen Theatres Cineport 10 with 162 films including feature-length films, shorts, animation and music videos from 40 countries. The LCIFF is presented by NMSU and Visit Las Cruces and the number of sponsors for the event continues to grow each year. VIP passes are $200, All-Access Passes are $100, Day Passes are $35 and admission to celebrity screenings is $35. Tickets are available now at www.lascrucesfilmfest.com.
Among many television credits, Hurd will appear on the fifth and final season of “You” for Netflix. Film credits include “The Plus One,” opposite Cedric The Entertainer, “Bad Hair,”opposite Blair Underwood and Vanessa Williams, “Being Frank,” opposite Jim Gaffigan, “Be Afraid We Don’t’ Belong Here,” with Catherine Keener and Maya Rudolph, and “Search Engines, Within The Dark, Girl Most Likely,” with Kristen Wiig.
The LCIFF is now the largest student-run film festival in the country. Approximately 80 to 100 NMSU students in the Creative Media Institute and the Creative Media Technology program at Doña Ana Community College will work together putting on the festival under Marks’ guidance. The festival also will include 10 different panels and workshops, such as casting, screenwriting and creating sound among others, for CMI students and members of the community to attend.
In addition to workshops and VIP parties, Las Cruces Public Schools will bring in about 400 to 500 students for field trips. Marks expects the festival to attract more than 12,000 movie fans this year during five days of films from across the U.S. and around the world. Puchase tickets, see film schedules and learn more at lascrucesfilmfest.com.
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CUTLINE: Michelle Hurd will receive the “Outstanding Achievement in Drama” award during the 10th annual Las Cruces International Film Festival. (Courtesy Photo)