The Santa Fe Film Festival plans to launch its 10th anniversary fest this December, despite financial setbacks and a failure to pay some previous festival filmmakers for screening their works.

California-based filmmaker Shane MacDougall said The Santa Fe Film Festival failed to pay him a rental fee for screenings of his film about dachshund racing, Wiener Takes All. MacDougall said he's been trying to get festival director Jon Bowman to pay him roughly $1,500 since early this year.

Wiener Takes All, a favorite at last year's festival, also was shown through February at the now-defunct Film Center, what had been the festival's year-round screening venue until it closed in April. MacDougall and Bowman agreed they to share a 60/40 box-office split — in favor of the festival.

"I don't want to come across as an angry, bitter filmmaker, but a deal is a deal," MacDougall said by phone Monday. "It wasn't like monies weren't collected. That was a door split, they collected our money and took our portion — and they're going to have another film festival and they haven't paid off their own debt? That's unethical. That's never happened to us elsewhere. We've had guys who have been slow to pay us, but I haven't been stiffed on a door split."

Speaking by phone Tuesday, Bowman acknowledged the festival has experienced a few economic bumps this year, and it still owes MacDougall and some other filmmakers rental fees for screenings at The Film Center.

"We just sent them a check for $400," Bowman said of MacDougall and his co-producer and wife, M.E. Law. "When we closed The Film Center there were a number of filmmakers we had to pay, but first we had to take care of employees and utilities, and get situated for this year's festival. We're now starting to pay everyone else. We paid about $3,000 to different filmmakers in the last two weeks. That's not the full amount we owe, but we have started to make a big dent."

The film festival kicks off again with five days of screenings, panel talks, parties and movie-related events in December.

Bowman said he plans to step down after this year's festival. He will be replaced by Karen RedHawk Dallet, the festival's operations director, in January.

Bowman said the economic downturn and a drop in national sponsors led the nonprofit festival to cut this year's budget by about $100,000. The fest will reduce the number of titles it screens to 150 from last year's 250.

The festival's 2007 income-tax return shows total expenses adding up to about $406,000, with a net profit of about $700. Bowman declined to say how much debt the festival is carrying now, but said he is working to reduce the number of payables.

"Anyone we owe money to, we pay," he said. "In the beginning, there were times it took us two or three years to pay people, but now it's more like a half-year to a year."

Tom Hasse, spokesman for the festival, confirmed in a news release Tuesday that this year's event will be presented "despite financial setbacks." The release acknowledged the fest is carrying debt from the closing of the Film Center and stated, "Everyone will get paid as soon as possible."

Film festival board president Walter Gallegos said filmmakers like MacDougall are the backbone of the event and that the fest can't afford to earn a bad reputation by not paying them.

"This was brought to my attention recently," Gallegos said Tuesday. "That doesn't mean I didn't realize we owe money to people — I do. If I had known about this, I would have regretted not calling him and touching personal base with him."

MacDougall said that $1,500 means a lot to independent filmmakers like himself in terms of marketing costs, plane fare to film festivals to promote the movie and related expenses. He said he'll believe the $400 check when he sees it. He and Law have exchanged several e-mails (some of which they copied to The New Mexican on Tuesday) and phone calls with Bowman regarding such assurances in the past.

"Promises were made, excuses were made, and I was really calm and patient and nothing materialized," Law said, adding that Bowman did offer to send an initial payment of $100 in September. She asked for $400, and was contemplating giving the festival more time until she discovered it was planning its 10th year.

"Obviously they have the money; they are staging another festival," she said. "I don't want this to happen to other filmmakers."

Contact Robert Nott at 986-3021 or rnott@sfnewmexican.com

On the Web

• Visit www.santafefilmfestival.com for details on the event.