Albuquerque Film & Music Experience
The Albuquerque Film & Music Experience is a nonprofit festival that brings filmmakers, musicians, performers, students, and industry professionals together through film screenings, live performances, workshops, educational programs, and networking opportunities. Founded in 2013 by Ivan Wiener with support from Robert Redford and Sibylle Szaggars-Redford, the festival was originally called the Albuquerque Film and Media Experience.
As the festival evolved, “Media” was replaced with “Music” to reflect the close relationship between filmmaking and musical expression. Music shapes visual storytelling through performance, scoring, and songwriting, making it an essential part of the creative process. AFMX has helped strengthen Albuquerque’s reputation as a center for independent film, music, and artistic collaboration while connecting emerging artists with experienced professionals.
My First Full Day in Albuquerque, New Mexico: Excitement, Faith, and Warning Signs (March 6, 2013)
One of the documentaries presented during the inaugural festival was Justice Denied, which premiered at Albuquerque’s historic KiMo Theatre on June 8, 2013. The film brought public attention to the sexual assault and rape of male service members in the United States Armed Forces—an urgent human-rights issue that was frequently overlooked or misunderstood.
Produced and co-directed by Geri Lynn Weinstein-Matthews alongside director and co-producer Michael Miller, the documentary featured the experiences of 13 male military sexual-assault survivors and perspectives from four mental-health professionals. The project was also closely connected to Air Force veteran Michael Matthews, who reportedly kept his own military sexual assault secret for approximately 30 years. Through firsthand testimony, the film exposed the shame, fear, retaliation, psychological trauma, and institutional failures that can prevent male survivors from reporting crimes or obtaining meaningful justice.
Playing Dumb Until I Reached the Airport: My Last Day in Albuquerque, New Mexico (March 8, 2013)
When I arrived in Albuquerque on March 5, 2013, to participate in an interview for Justice Denied and support its advocacy mission, I believed I was beginning an exciting new chapter in my work for military sexual-trauma survivors. Supporting male survivors mattered deeply to me then, and it still matters today. However, the trip taught me that a worthy cause does not automatically make every person connected to it trustworthy. Shared military branches, experiences, and causes do not guarantee shared character.
On March 6, I prayed the Lord’s Prayer inside the historic San Felipe de Neri Parish. At that moment, I was happy, hopeful, and unaware of how deeply I would soon need the words “deliver us from evil.” Looking back, that prayer feels prophetic. I believe I had placed myself in God’s hands before I fully understood the betrayal, retaliation, fear, and lasting consequences that would follow. After observing troubling behavior and overhearing a disturbing telephone conversation on March 7, I entered survival mode.
I was far from home without my own lodging or transportation, making me dependent upon someone whose behavior had begun to alarm me. On March 8, I remained calm, concealed my fear, quietly documented my route, and played dumb until I safely reached the airport. I could not know another person’s intentions with certainty, but personal safety does not require courtroom-level proof. Sometimes survival means saying less, avoiding confrontation, and trusting a warning that cannot yet be fully explained.
The Trip That Changed Everything: Jennifer and Onyx Fly to Albuquerque, New Mexico (June 3, 2013)
When I returned to Albuquerque in June for the documentary premiere, I traveled differently. I reserved my own hotel room, rented a car, brought my service dog Onyx, and maintained control over my movements and exits. Those precautions allowed me to support the survivors and the film without surrendering my independence. The experience taught me that hospitality can create access, transportation can create dependence, and having a reliable way out is an essential part of personal safety.
Albuquerque remains a place of beauty, faith, history, and meaningful storytelling for me. I refused to allow one frightening experience to steal New Mexico from me, but I never traveled the same way again. I learned to meet unfamiliar people in public, maintain independent transportation and lodging whenever possible, document concerning events, and never allow guilt, politeness, professional pressure, or a shared cause to override my instincts.
Summary:
The inaugural Albuquerque Film and Media Experience demonstrated how storytelling can elevate silenced voices and inspire difficult but necessary conversations. Justice Denied gave male military sexual-assault survivors an opportunity to be heard, while my involvement taught me an equally important personal lesson: advocacy must never require surrendering safety or independence. Divine protection is not always a dramatic rescue. Sometimes it appears as an uneasy feeling, a closed door, a firm boundary, or the wisdom to remain silent until safety is within reach. Trust must be earned, discomfort is information, and no one is entitled to access that compromises another person’s health, freedom, or safety.
Sources:
- Albuquerque Film & Music Experience: Our Story
- Justice Denied Will Look at Sexual Assault and Rape Against Men in the Military — Social Workers Speak
- From Excitement to Survival Mode: The Albuquerque Trip That Changed How I Trusted, Traveled, and Protected Myself
- Divinely Protected: The Lord’s Prayer I Prayed at San Felipe de Neri Parish
- Playing Dumb Until I Reached the Airport: My Last Day in Albuquerque
- Jennifer and Onyx Travel to Albuquerque to Support Male Survivors
- The Lord’s Prayer at San Felipe de Neri Parish
Jennifer and Lee 