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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, 鈥淚鈥檒l do it for less than minimum wage.鈥�

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.

鈥淭he first year was hard,鈥� Henley said. 鈥淎 lot of beans and rice and ramen noodles.鈥�

At 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, Henley will give a free talk, titled 鈥淭he Guild Cinema Experience,鈥� at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum. The talk, which is part of the Humanist Society of New Mexico鈥檚 monthly speaker series, will address the history of Guild Cinema 鈥� the longest still-operating movie theater in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 鈥� and the social and cultural relevance of cinema.

鈥淓arly 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,鈥� Henley said. 鈥淎nd when I saw that eyeball being sliced in (the Luis Bu帽uel and Salvador Dal铆 film) 鈥楿n Chien Andalou鈥� as a young kid, I was like, 鈥榃hat did I just see?鈥� That opened my eyes to a whole other world. It was invigorating.鈥�

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.

鈥淚f you ask our members what is the primary reason they come to our meetings, it would be a sense of community. That鈥檚 what they look for,鈥� Babb said.

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

鈥淗umanists 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,鈥� Babb said. 鈥淢ost of us don鈥檛 believe in a supernatural being, heaven or hell, but many of our members consider themselves spiritual.鈥�

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

鈥淚 tend to skew towards agnosticism,鈥� Henley said, 鈥淏ut I had to look up what 鈥榟umanist鈥� even meant.鈥�

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

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

鈥淚f you look at the lineup of films, it touches on every aspect of the human experience,鈥� Babb said. 鈥淜eif has done a fabulous job at maintaining that diversity.鈥�

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

鈥淚 find it a moral imperative to offer alternative points of view, especially in the times we鈥檙e in. I mean, it鈥檚 always been that way, but maybe now even more so,鈥� Henley said. 鈥淚 feel a need to offer alternative points of view, but also alternative aesthetics, new experiences.鈥�

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

鈥淵ou can travel vicariously through films. I can鈥檛 go to the Middle East, probably for many reasons 鈥� I鈥檓 working all the time 鈥� but I can see movies that give me some semblance of what it鈥檚 like there,鈥� Henley said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 maybe why (the Humanist Society) asked me to do this. They want to know why I would pick certain movies, or what鈥檚 the value of an arthouse movie theater in these times.鈥�

Other upcoming speakers in the Humanist Society鈥檚 monthly speaker series include former fundamentalist Christian broadcaster Seth Andrews, New Mexico鈥檚 poet laureate Lauren Camp and sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 executive editor Jay Newton-Small.

鈥淥ur speaker series is where we attract most of our new members,鈥� Babb said. 鈥淚 think the November speech by Seth Andrews will fill the house at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum, because he鈥檚 well known, he鈥檚 well respected and he鈥檚 got a strong message.鈥�

鈥淭he speakers range from scientists to educators to folks in the arts and entertainment area,鈥� Babb said. 鈥淎nd I wanted to book Keif because I鈥檝e been going to the Guild ever since I moved to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 five years ago. It鈥檚 an institution that is probably way undervalued in the community.鈥�

Guild Cinema owner to speak at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum