The Land of Enchantment has truly become the Land of Film Festivals.

Since I moved here from the relatively boring Midwest 18 years ago, I’ve encountered digital film festivals, three-minute film festivals, horror film festivals, Native American film festivals, outdoor adventure and mountaineering festivals, a dog-themed film festival, a full-dome film festival, animation festivals, the late, great Taos Film Festival and even Pornotopia, an inaugural erotic film festival last year in Albuquerque (city government usually drools all over anything film-related but it it threatened to shut that one down on grounds of indecency. Look for it again this year).

Usually, the point of a a film festival is usually to celebrate films of unmistakable quality or cultural import which feature a particular theme, actor or director. But not always.

My personal favorite was the private little Karen Black film free for-all some friends used to hold every year at their house. It was a scream, literally. It was also cause to dress up, emote hysterically and throw things at the screen. But it wasn’t exactly high culture.

Now that I’m all grown up, when I go to a film festival, I want to see thoughtful, well-made films that provoke, educate and stimulate me.

That’s why I appreciate the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Festival, now in its sixth year in New Mexico. The weeklong festival starts Sept. 26 and lasts through Oct. 2 in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

The regional festival has grown from a three-day, one-city, one-venue event showing 16 films to a week-long offering that spans two cities, five venues, and over 80 films from 18 countries.

Virtually all of the films are New Mexico premieres, meaning they are being shown for the first time here, says festival director Roberto Appicciafoco. And although the festival focuses on films with GLBT themes, the appeal of the festival is wide, he said.

"A lot of our films can fall into different markets, not just gay and lesbian. I think a lot of the community is represented here. And a large part of the people who come here are just people who love theater."

And New Mexicans do love their films. Attendance has grown from the about 1,500 who attended the first festival at the former Madstone Theater to about 4,500 who went last year, said Appicciafoco. The festival got a bit attendance bump in 2005, when it expanded to venues in Santa Fe.

The current attendance numbers put the festival squarely in the category of small-to-mid sized gay film festivals among the 30 or so held annually in the U.S., said Appicciafoco. "This is a very responsive community here..I’ve always felt there was a need for such a festival," said Appicciafoco, who used to head the Southwest Film Center at the University of New Mexico while he was a student there from 1996-2001. During that time, he noted that gay and lesbian-themed films were always the best-attended ones at the center.

After he graduated, Appicciofoco traveled around working for various film festivals and decided to come back to Albuquerque to found one of his own.

Steadily-growing attendance and strong local and national sponsorship has allowed the festival to improve programming and attract more sponsors. This year’s sponsors include the City of Albuquerque and the City of Albuquerque Film Office, Mati and the national cable television station heretv.

"That kind of community-driven response has maintained the festival and helped it grow each year," he said.

Each year the festival’s screening committee tries to develop an overarching theme for the dozens of culturally-rich movies it selects. Last year, the unifying principle was border issues and immigration, but this year it will be on the universal issue of "coming out," said Appicciafoco.

The opening night movie is "Were the World Mine," about a gay high school musical and sort of based on Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

"It’s a fun little romp and a good way to start the festival," said Appicciafoco. The festival will close with "Tru Loved," which deals with a fledgling gay/straight alliance in high school and is packed with quirky cameos.

The festival’s international centerpiece is the Argentinian film "XXY," which will be showing Sept. 27 at the South Broadway Cultural Center.

For more information on the festival, visit closetcinema.org. Tickets go on sale Monday.