The Screen

The Screen was an independent arthouse cinema located in midtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the campus of the institution formerly known as the College of Santa Fe and later as Santa Fe University of Art and Design. It operated from 1997 until its closure in early 2020. Rather than functioning primarily as a mainstream multiplex, The Screen presented a curated program of world cinema, art films, independent productions, and special cultural events. The venue was founded by Brent Kliewer, a Santa Fe film curator, critic, writer, and educator whose programming career in the city began in the early 1980s. Kliewer served as The Screen's first curator and was involved in the design of the facility. His earlier work included founding the Jean Cocteau Cinema in Santa Fe and developing film programming for the Center for Contemporary Arts. This background shaped The Screen as a specialist exhibition venue with an emphasis on culturally significant, international, and independent work. The cinema also supported the educational mission of its host campus. The Moving Image Arts Department used the venue for course screenings and student organizations, connecting public exhibition with film education and campus life. This relationship gave The Screen a role beyond commercial movie exhibition: it served as a local cultural institution, a teaching resource, and a gathering place for audiences interested in non-mainstream film. The Screen operated in a former soundstage adapted for cinema presentation. Its facilities included stadium seating, a high-definition curved screen approximately half the size of an IMAX screen, a 16-speaker Dolby Digital surround system, and both 35-millimeter and digital projection. Analog sound readers supported mono and surround formats, while simplex changeover projectors with adjustable shutter capabilities allowed the venue to show silent-film prints. A satellite receiver enabled live or near-live transmissions of operas, ballets, plays, and other international performance events. The closure of the college and the subsequent shutdown of The Screen weakened the institutional setting that had supported the cinema. In 2018, the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts announced plans to acquire and revive the theater, with financial assistance from the city. The proposed revival did not restore the venue to operation. The Screen ultimately closed in early 2020, during the period when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cinema exhibition and cultural venues worldwide. By 2023, part of the former university campus containing the site of The Screen had been acquired by developers. Plans for the broader property included expanding existing sound stages and related film-production facilities. The available reference material does not establish a subsequent reopening, a new operator, or a successor cinema brand. The Screen is therefore best understood as a defunct Santa Fe cinematheque whose legacy rests on specialist film programming, film education, and technically ambitious presentation of both recorded and live cultural works.

The Screen was established in 1997 as an arthouse cinema on the campus of the College of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The school later became Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Its creation reflected the city's established interest in film culture and the programming work of Brent Kliewer, who founded the venue and became its first curator. Kliewer had been programming films in Santa Fe since 1982. His earlier activities included founding the Jean Cocteau Cinema in 1983 and beginning the film program at the Center for Contemporary Arts in 1986. He also worked as a film critic for the Santa Fe New Mexican and later taught critical studies in the Moving Image Arts Department at the College of Santa Fe. In the late 1990s, he contributed to the design of The Screen, bringing together exhibition, criticism, and education in a purpose-built cultural venue. The cinema's program covered world cinema, art films, and independent productions. Its campus relationship made it especially useful for film courses, student clubs, and other activities associated with the Moving Image Arts Department. At the same time, it operated as a public-facing cultural venue for Santa Fe residents and visitors. The Screen broadened its programming beyond conventional film releases by presenting international opera, ballet, and theatrical productions through satellite transmission. The facility occupied a converted soundstage. It included stadium seating, a large curved high-definition screen, a 16-speaker Dolby Digital surround-sound system, and projection capabilities for both 35-millimeter and digital formats. Analog sound readers allowed the venue to accommodate mono and surround prints, while adjustable-shutter simplex changeover projectors supported silent-film exhibition. A satellite receiver was used for live or transmitted performance events. The institution's future became uncertain after the closure of the university. In 2018, the Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts announced an intention to purchase and revive the theater, supported by financial assistance from the city. The available sources do not show that the proposed acquisition or revival was completed. The Screen closed in early 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic and the wider disruption of cinema and arts operations. The former campus subsequently entered redevelopment. By 2023, developers had acquired a portion of the property that included the former cinema site, with plans to enlarge existing sound stages and associated film-production facilities. No source supplied for this dossier confirms a reopening, a successor operator, or continued operation under The Screen name. The venue's documented history therefore ends with its closure and the redevelopment of its former campus setting.

• 2023

  Former site enters redevelopment plans

  [1]The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org

  Part of the former campus containing The Screen is acquired for development intended to expand sound stages and related film-production facilities.

• 2020

  The Screen closes

  [1]The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org

  The cinema closes in early 2020, following the closure of its host institution and amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 2018

  Proposed acquisition and revival

  [1]The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org

  The Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts announces plans to purchase and revive The Screen with city financial support.

• 1997

  The Screen opens

  [1]The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org

  The arthouse cinema opens on the College of Santa Fe campus under the founding direction of Brent Kliewer.

• 1982

  Brent Kliewer begins programming films in Santa Fe

  [1]The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org

  The future founder and first curator of The Screen begins his film-programming career in Santa Fe.

A specialist, curator-led cinematheque serving Santa Fe audiences through art cinema, international film, independent productions, educational screenings, and high-quality presentation of cultural performances.

• Film exhibition · 1997

  Arthouse and world cinema

  The Screen's core offering was a curated program of art, world, and independent films. Its specialist identity distinguished it from a conventional commercial multiplex, with programming shaped by film-cultural and educational priorities associated with its curator and host campus.

• Live performance cinema

  Satellite cultural performances

  The venue used satellite reception to present international operas, ballets, and plays to local audiences. These events extended The Screen's role from film exhibition into the presentation of performing arts in a cinema setting.

• Film education · 1997

  Educational screenings

  The Moving Image Arts Department used The Screen for course screenings and student clubs. These activities made the cinema a practical resource for film education and connected its public program with the academic life of the campus.

• 2020

  Closure of the cinemaOther

  Background

  The cinema's host educational institution had closed, and the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted cultural venues and cinema operations.

  Action taken

  The Screen ceased operations in early 2020.

  Aftermath

  The venue remained closed, and the former campus later became subject to redevelopment plans involving expanded sound stages and film-production facilities.

  Source

• 2018

  Proposed revival through nonprofit acquisitionStrategy

  Background

  The closure of the host university placed the campus cinema's future in doubt.

  Action taken

  The Santa Fe Center for Contemporary Arts announced plans to purchase and revive The Screen, with financial assistance from the city.

  Aftermath

  The available reference material does not confirm that the acquisition or revival was completed, and the venue later closed in early 2020.

  Source

1. 1The Screen (cinematheque)en.wikipedia.org