Keif Henley has been at the Guild Cinema since 1997. He walked in to do concession work and sell tickets, didn't have a key for months, and wasn't allowed near the projector for almost five. But he stuck around. Eventually they made him head projectionist, and eventually — through a chain of events involving a distant cousin he'd never met, a surprise inheritance, and previous owners generous enough to accept a modest offer — he bought the place.
The Guild has been on Central Avenue since 1966. The building may have once been a beauty salon, maybe a Chinese restaurant. Next door was a used waterbed store in the '80s. Nob Hill has changed a lot, but the Guild is still here — one screen, one owner, no parent company, right on Route 66.
Their moniker is "eclectic cinema seven days a week," and they mean it. Local documentaries, international films, horror, avant-garde, underground punk rock screenings, live bands, stand-up comedy, guest directors in person. Keif's heart is with the experimental and the DIY, but he knows that doesn't always pay the bills — so he mixes it up. One for him, one for them.
During the pandemic shutdown, the community rallied. Donations came in, grants came through. At one point Keif was telling people to give their money to other businesses that needed it more. He keeps ticket prices low because New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the nation, and he hates raising them. Accessible, affordable, and open to anyone who walks through the door with an idea — that's how the Guild has survived for six decades.