Guild Cinema owner to speak at Albuquerque Museum

Keif Henley started working at Guild Cinema in Nob Hill as a part-time assistant in 1997. A longtime fan of the arthouse movie theater, Henley told the manager at the time, “I’ll do it for less than minimum wage.”

By 2004, Henley had become a co-owner of the Guild, along with Peter Conheim, a film preservationist and member of the experimental music group Negativland. Henley is now the sole owner.

“The first year was hard,” Henley said. “A lot of beans and rice and ramen noodles.”

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, Henley will give a free talk, titled “The Guild Cinema Experience,” at the Albuquerque Museum. The talk, which is part of the Humanist Society of New Mexico’s monthly speaker series, will address the history of Guild Cinema — the longest still-operating movie theater in Albuquerque — and the social and cultural relevance of cinema.

“Early on, before I even knew what the term was, I was searching out the beatific, in the beatnik sense of something that jazzes you up, invigorates you, jolts you,” Henley said. “And when I saw that eyeball being sliced in (the Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí film) ‘Un Chien Andalou’ as a young kid, I was like, ‘What did I just see?’ That opened my eyes to a whole other world. It was invigorating.”

Paul Babb, the vice president of the Humanist Society of New Mexico, said the Guild is a cultural institution for local film lovers that fills a need for community, just as the Humanist Society does.

“If you ask our members what is the primary reason they come to our meetings, it would be a sense of community. That’s what they look for,” Babb said.

While humanism is sometimes conflated with atheism, Babb said his organization’s members hold diverse beliefs, and some even attend church services. What unites them is a commitment to positive human values.

“Humanists believe in the here and now. We believe in doing good without the promise of reward in the afterlife. We believe in science and reason, and we share a sense of awe about the universe,” Babb said. “Most of us don’t believe in a supernatural being, heaven or hell, but many of our members consider themselves spiritual.”

Henley said he had not identified as a humanist prior to being invited to speak by the organization.

“I tend to skew towards agnosticism,” Henley said, “But I had to look up what ‘humanist’ even meant.”

“I would say there’s a time and a place for everything,” Henley continued. “I love Dada, and that’s about nonsense. Humanists are about using your rational mind. So, I see both sides. We could probably use more rationalism. But there’s a place for crazy stuff, too.”

Still, Babb believes Henley’s programming at the Guild embodies core humanistic values.

“If you look at the lineup of films, it touches on every aspect of the human experience,” Babb said. “Keif has done a fabulous job at maintaining that diversity.”

The diversity of the Guild’s programming is very much intentional, according to Henley.

“I find it a moral imperative to offer alternative points of view, especially in the times we’re in. I mean, it’s always been that way, but maybe now even more so,” Henley said. “I feel a need to offer alternative points of view, but also alternative aesthetics, new experiences.”

And he said films can help audiences understand people whose lives are drastically different from their own.

“You can travel vicariously through films. I can’t go to the Middle East, probably for many reasons — I’m working all the time — but I can see movies that give me some semblance of what it’s like there,” Henley said. “That’s maybe why (the Humanist Society) asked me to do this. They want to know why I would pick certain movies, or what’s the value of an arthouse movie theater in these times.”

Other upcoming speakers in the Humanist Society’s monthly speaker series include former fundamentalist Christian broadcaster Seth Andrews, New Mexico’s poet laureate Lauren Camp and Albuquerque Journal’s executive editor Jay Newton-Small.

“Our speaker series is where we attract most of our new members,” Babb said. “I think the November speech by Seth Andrews will fill the house at the Albuquerque Museum, because he’s well known, he’s well respected and he’s got a strong message.”

“The speakers range from scientists to educators to folks in the arts and entertainment area,” Babb said. “And I wanted to book Keif because I’ve been going to the Guild ever since I moved to Albuquerque five years ago. It’s an institution that is probably way undervalued in the community.”

Guild Cinema owner to speak at Albuquerque Museum