The New Mexico Film Office announced this week that a Tyler Perry production will film around Las Cruces, New Mexico. This is the second production to announce filming in the area this week.

The movie, “Tyler Perry’s Joe’s College Road Trip,” has not announced filming dates as of yet. However, the production plans to employ 90 New Mexican crew members and background talent.

Perry (“A Jazzman’s Blues,” “Mea Culpa”) will direct, produce and star in the film. He will star alongside Jermaine Harris (“Saturdays”), Amber Reign Smith (“The Other Black Girl”), Bethany Anne Lind (“Ozark”), Jeremy Gimenez (“The Shift”), Millie Jackson (“Censor”), Wil Deusner (“Stargirl”), Patricia Williams (“Drugstore June”) and Nickolas Wolf (“The Family Man”).

Angi Bones (“Single Drunk Female”) will co-produce.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tyler Perry and ‘Joe’s College Road Trip’ to Las Cruces,” Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Doña Ana County said in a news release from the film office. “As one of America’s most prolific directors, we’re excited to be able to offer our great outdoor locations and warm winter filming climate to this prestigious film production.”

According to the news release, the film will follow B.J., who is getting ready to go to college and is planning a cross-country college trip with his friends before they graduate from high school.

“His father, Brian, is initially excited about the opportunity until he realizes his son has a sheltered and disconnected view of what it means to be Black in America. He takes his concerns to none other than Madea, who quickly confirms that B.J. has a lot to learn about the real world,” the news release reads. “Madea offers a solution: instead of B.J. traveling cross-country with his all-white friends doing all-white activities, he should do the drive with his grandfather Joe. They then embark on a trip that changes the trajectory of both of their lives.”

While traveling the country, the duo stop at Joe’s favorite places among the college stops. The struggle to connect at first, but a less than usual pit stop sparks understanding and realizations.

The story is described as one of “self-discovery, cross-generational respect, and connecting to and honoring the past as the purest means of stepping into the future.”

More information about the production can be found by emailing lowe@ssmandl.com.

This is the second production announced in a week with plans to film in Las Cruces this year. Feature film “I’ll Be Gone in June” will film in the area in June.