There was a recurring message delivered during Saturday's Santa Fe Film Festival Milagro Awards Ceremony: New Mexico is the best place to shoot movies.

The event, held at the National Dance Institute's Dance Barns on Alto Street, started off with a snappy swing dance performed by young NDI dancers that almost made up for the fact that the ceremony started 40 minutes late.

Actors John Carroll Lynch and Anna Gunn (a Santa Fe native who has a recurring role on the New Mexican-shot series Breaking Bad) hosted the roughly two-hour event, which played to a capacity crowd.

The annual ceremony honors participating filmmakers in a number of categories and pays tribute to special guests. This year, actors Tommy Lee Jones and Wes Studi, actor/director Mark Rydell and cinematographer Ellen Kuras were the tributees.

Unfortunately, the usual disorganization that infects this ceremony was all too evident, marring what should by now be a thoroughly professional offering. Presenters spoke more about themselves than the people they were introducing, a winning title was flashed on a film screen before the nominees in that category had been named, and at one point a film clip ran sans sound.

One presenter, cinematographer Christopher Doyle, acted bizarre and rude, spouting profanities as he introduced — and interrupted — Kuras. The audience was not amused, with several members up front suggesting "shut that guy up."

Still, most of the winning filmmakers displayed grace, class, humor and pride as they accepted their awards. The low-budget drama Becoming Eduardo, shot mainly in Southern New Mexico, took home two honors: The Tamalewood Award and Best Latin Film. The best dramatic feature was Kevin Willmot's The Only Good Indian, featuring Studi as a bounty hunter.

Chris Ordal's documentary Earthwork, about representational earthworks artist Stan Herd, also took home two awards: The Creative Spirit and The People's Choice Award. The latter is the only award chosen by filmgoers; the rest are decided by a jury panel. During his acceptance speech, Rydell delighted the audience with a slightly off-color anecdote about John Wayne, whom he directed in the 1972 Western The Cowboys.

Gov. Bill Richardson was on hand to introduce Jones, who received a standing ovation from the crowd. The governor garnered a laugh when he recalled the first time he met the Texas-born actor, known for his work in such films as No Country For Old Men, The Missing and The Fugitive (for which he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor). The governor said he invited Jones to a dinner party, but was informed by Lee Witt, his chief of protocol, that the actor didn't like the seating arrangements.

"We can fix that," the governor said. "Who's he sitting next to?" "You," Witt replied. It turns out the actor wanted to sit with his family at a separate table.

Both the governor and Jones — who read from a clearly prepared speech — emphasized New Mexico's worth as a film locale. In fact, at times the ceremony came off more like a plea to maintain support for the state's popular film-incentives program. The governor has made filmmaking a cornerstone of his economic development plan, but given the state's budget woes, it's possible lawmakers will look closely at the program for possible cuts during the upcoming legislative session.

The festival marks the last under the guidance of executive director Jon Bowman, who co-founded the event. He will retire, to be replaced by the festival's operations director, Karen RedHawk Dallet.

The governor acknowledged Bowman for his work on the festival in his speech, adding that the latter used to be a journalist.

"And he was the only guy to write nice things about me," Richardson noted — which netted another laugh.

The festival continues through today at various venues in Santa Fe. Visit www.santafefilmfestival.com for details.

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