Las Cruces Libraries Present Documentary “Birth of the Acid Western”

Las Cruces Public Libraries invites you to join film scholar and documentarian Julia Smith beginning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library (200 E. Picacho Avenue), for a presentation on her upcoming documentary “Birth of the Acid Western.” The documentary is about the late New Mexico State University professor Orville Wanzer, who wrote and directed “The Devil’s Mistress,” the first feature film shot in the Las Cruces area and one of the earliest regional low-budget films to achieve a Hollywood release. Participants will also enjoy a screening of this film during the program.

Smith, who has researched and restored Wanzer’s film archive since 2019, will introduce the film and discuss its historical significance and Wanzer’s contributions to independent filmmaking in New Mexico. The program will also feature a trailer for “Birth of the Acid Western,” her documentary that explores Wanzer’s pioneering work, the Acid Western genre and the existential ethos of the American counterculture expressed in the evolution of the Western genre in the 1960s. The event will conclude with a question-and-answer session hosted by Smith. This program is sponsored by the Friends of Thomas Branigan Memorial Library

For information, contact Shaunna Foster, Library Assistant II, at 575-528-3154 or by email at [email protected].

This document can made be available in alternative formats by calling (575) 528-4102/TTY 711. If you require an accommodation for a disability to participate in this event, call the library at (575) 528-4102 /TTY 771 at least 48 hours in advance.