by Maggie Ybarra
Daily Lobo
A meeting today will decide whether the Guild Cinema's owners will face repercussions for holding a pornography film festival over the weekend.
Peter Conheim and Keif Henley received a letter Friday saying the Pornotopia festival violates Albuquerque's zoning laws.
The letter states that the Guild is not zoned to show X-rated films with "exposure or representation of specified anatomical areas or the conduct or simulation of specified sexual activities."
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City Attorney Bob White said Monday's meeting will determine whether a citation will be issued or other action will be taken against Conheim and Henley.
"The zoning law says where you can operate and where you cannot," he said. "They're located around town in various places. Fantasyland and TD's are in an appropriate zone, and some of the other theaters on Central (Avenue) are in appropriate zones."
The Pornotopia festival began at 7 p.m. Friday with "Annie Sprinkle's Amazing World of Orgasms." It ended Sunday night with an encore showing of the 3-D film "Disco Dolls in Hot Skin."
Conheim said the penalties for holding the festival were daunting.
"When the papers were served to us by the code enforcement official, he said that the maximum penalties were 90 days in jail or the maximum of a $500 fine per film," he said.
During the festival, Conheim and Keif screened 13 films. A $500 fine for each film would cost them $6,500.
Matie Fricker and Molly Adler, owners of sexuality resource store Self Serve, worked with Conheim and Henley to put together the
festival.
He said the letter was delivered at an inconvenient time.
"It came at 4:45 p.m. on a Friday, which was difficult timing because we've been advertising this for two months," she said. "And it was late enough on a Friday that we couldn't do anything to
change it."
White said zoning officials weren't aware of the festival until Thursday night.
He said the letter was to inform the owners of zoning regulations.
"There's nothing in there that said, 'You need to close down,' or, 'You can't do this,'" he said. "It's just, 'Here's what qualifies as an adult-theater establishment, and here's what doesn't.'"
Fricker said the ACLU would fight citations against the Guild.
Conheim said the festival drew a lot of customers.
"It's up there with the top-10 weekend-long events we've done - maybe even the top five," he said.
On Sunday evening, 61-year-old Rosemary Robles showed up in front of the Guild with a homemade poster that stated, "Say no to pornography, yes to Jesus."
Robles said it was the first time she felt compelled to protest in the last 30 years.
"I heard in the newspaper that they were going to have this," she said. "The city was supposed to shut this down, but they still put it on today, and I'm concerned."
Robles said she was upset with the reaction she was getting from drivers.
"People are throwing me
fingers," she said. "They're doing all sorts of things to me. One girl said I liked it."
Conheim said he wasn't bothered by the protesting.
"I have no problem with her," Conheim said. "A pro-Jesus, anti-porn protester - what better advertisement could I ask for a porn festival."
