While plans for a multiscreen cineplex in the Santa Fe Railyard have been delayed, a mostly unused theater nearby on Montezuma Avenue will soon get some new life.

The Film Center, started in April 2005 to showcase works by regional filmmakers and keep the Santa Fe Film Festival in the public eye year-round, is moving into the New Mexico Film Museum (formerly the Jean Cocteau Cinema) — for now, anyway.

The small venue also is being considered as a possible site for The Screen, if that art-house cinema is forced to move off the campus of the soon-to-close College of Santa Fe.

The Film Center currently is set up in the former Cinemacafe in the St. Michael's Village West Shopping Mall on St. Michael's Drive. The organization doesn't show major first-run movies but serves as a programming arm of the 9-year-old Santa Fe Film Festival.

According to Forrest Thomas, president of Thomas Properties Ltd., which owns the St. Michael's Drive property, that single-screen theater will be converted into a retail store later this year. Thomas declined to reveal the new occupant but said it would be a home-remodeling or furnishings type of store.

Jon Bowman, executive director of the Santa Fe Film Festival, said The Film Center's last day of operation in its current home will be Sunday, April 19. The center will close for a week or so while it moves to the Film Museum building.

"It's temporary while we look at a long-term deal," Bowman said Wednesday. "The Film Museum has other events it wants to present, so we're looking at a deal where we would use the facility three or four days a week."

Still, whether The Film Center could take root at the Montezuma Avenue site depends on the fate of The Screen. The College of Santa Fe, reeling under a roughly $35 million debt, is scheduled to close May 22, leaving the 10-year-old cinema and its programming homeless.

In February, Gov. Bill Richardson announced that the state would allocate $150,000 (money appropriated by the Legislature toward educational filmmaking initiatives) to keep The Screen running, including the cost of relocating it to The Film Museum if need be.

Brent Kliewer, curator of The Screen, said Thursday, "We still hope to be on campus, but there has to be some answers in the next month as to what direction we're going. Hopefully it will end up that, even if it's not one entity or school running the campus, a certain amount of space here could be kept as it is for people like us, the tennis center and The Santa Fe Art Institute." Still, Kliewer said, if need be, The Screen will move to The Film Museum.

Eric Witt, Richardson's point man on media and film matters, said Wednesday, "It's true that The Film Center is interested in a long-term lease at the Cocteau, but everything remains on hold pending the resolution of The Screen. Our first commitment is making sure that The Screen continues."

Stuart Ashman, secretary of the Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees The Film Museum, acknowledged Wednesday that he is "determined to get something into the Cocteau. We haven't finalized any agreement or signed on any dotted lines. The governor's idea is to rescue The Screen, but only if the college is rescued — which is a much larger question. But if we make an agreement with the film festival, we no longer have the ability to accommodate The Screen. When all the cards are played, we'll know where we stand in terms of who the best fit is."

Bowman said he was confident that The Film Center could operate out of the Film Museum through May. If, after that, it's ousted to make room for The Screen, "It's not a big problem for us to be gypsies, because we've been gypsies all of our life. We have every hope it will work out well."

The Jean Cocteau, which opened in the mid-1970s, closed in April 2006. The Film Museum, run by India Hatch, took over the space shortly thereafter. The New Mexican recently reported that Hatch, who was appointed to the post by Gov. Richardson, earns $90,000 a year, but the museum has no budget for programming, collections or archives. Bowman said if The Film Center becomes a permanent tenant, it would spruce up the lobby and operate the concessions stand.

The Cinemacafe (formerly the Grand Illusion Theater) was built around 1970 as part of the Jerry Lewis Cinema Corp., which lasted until 1980. The theater has since been run by a succession of theater chains. "Sadly its days as a cinema are coming to an end," Thomas said. "The business model of a single-screen theater doesn't work today."

Complicating matters, the Montezuma Avenue building that houses the Film Museum and the New Mexico Film Office remains for sale by its owner, Trans-Lux Theaters. Ashman said he hoped to ink a three-year renewal lease for the space before the end of April.

Developers of the nearby Market Station on the Santa Fe Railyard are supposed to put a movie theater next to the commercial complex. But the long-sought theater isn't yet under construction. While Maya Cinemas still plans to operate the theater, developer Rick Jaramillo said recently, the project has been delayed indefinitely because of financing problems.

Contact Robert Nott at rnott@sfnewmexican.com or 986-3021.