Deutsche Kinemathek
Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen Berlin (English: "German Cinematheque – Museum of Film and Television Berlin") is a major German film archive and film museum located in Berlin, Germany. Located at Potsdamer Platz since 1963, it moved to a new temporary location at E-Werk in 2025.
History
[edit]The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Museum für Film und Fernsehen) on 1 June 2006, it was known simply as the Deutsche Kinemathek, after that date acquiring the second part of its name".[1]
The Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Museum für Film und Fernsehen) opened in 2000 as part of the Deutsche Kinemathek at Potsdamer Straße 2 in Berlin.[2][3] Part of the archived collection of Deutsche Kinemathek was placed on exhibition at the "Filmhaus" on Potsdamer Platz.[1]
Location
[edit]The Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen Berlin was located at Potsdamer Platz until its closure at the end of 2024 ahead of its relocation.[4] The permanent exhibition at the old location closed on 31 October 2024.[5]
In January 2025 Deutsche Kinemathek opened in a new location, the E-Werk,[6] an old power substation in Berlin-Mitte.[4] The film archive open on 2 May 2025.[7]
Description
[edit]Deutsche Kinemathek is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.[6]
Permanent exhibition
[edit]
The Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Museum für Film und Fernsehen) was a permanent exhibition about German film and television history, which was also supplemented by special temporary exhibitions.[6] The exhibits in the permanent exhibition included posters, photos, film costumes, architectural sketches, and props. It displayed exhibits from the entire span of German film and television history, including the exile of many artists to Hollywood during the Nazi era.[3] A particular focus is the actress Marlene Dietrich compiled from an extensive private collection.[citation needed] The exhibits, located in the Filmhaus, include the set designs for Fritz Lang's futuristic 1927 film Metropolis, Marlene Dietrich's cosmetics case, and the clothing from Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 war film Das Boot.[1] It also includes items donated by German director Werner Herzog and TV documentary filmmaker Georg Stefan Troller and important film scripts including by directors Carl Mayer, Christian Petzold, and many others.[1]
The permanent exhibition has been closed since 31 October 2024 and is set to re-open in autumn 2025.[6]
Archive and library
[edit]The museum also features a library with extensive collections of literature and film journals, including important early magazines like The Cinematograph, the photo-stage and the Film-Kurier. Before it moved to the film museum, the library belonged to the German Film and Television Academy (dffb).
The film archive contains copies of over 26,500 films, as well as an inventory of over 40,000 films on video, DVD, and Blu-ray. Mediathek Fernsehen contains over 9,000 broadcasts, made over around 70 years in both East and West Germany as well as modern Germany. In addition, the archival collection includes photographs, posters, costumes, and architectural sketches.[1]
Berlinale screenings
[edit]From 1977, the Deutsche Kinemathek has supervised the annual "Retrospective and Homage" section of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).[1] Films in this section have been screened in the Zeughauskino[8] (an archive film cinema specialising in retrospectives; from 2023 within the Deutsches Historisches Museum at Unter den Linden 2[9]) and the CinemaxX Potsdamer Platz.[10][11][12]
Memberships
[edit]The museum is a member of the German Kinemathekenverbund.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "About us". Deutsche Kinemathek. 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Deutsche Kinemathek". Museumsportal Berlin (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ a b Schulte-Peevers, Andrea (1 February 2019). Lonely Planet Berlin. Lonely Planet. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-78868-188-9.
- ^ a b "Deutsche Kinemathek". visitBerlin.de. 16 October 2024. Archived from the original on 13 January 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "Our permanent exhibition is closing". Deutsche Kinemathek. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d "About us". Deutsche Kinemathek. 13 December 2024. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "We've moved!". Deutsche Kinemathek. 2 May 2025. Archived from the original on 6 March 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "Festival Map: Zeughauskino". Berlinale. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Zeughauskino". DHM. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "Weimar Revisited at the Berlinale". Early & Silent Film. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ "30th Retrospective at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival: Dream Girls. Film Stars of the Fifties" (PDF). 11 November 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
- ^ Pochko, Valerie (15 February 2013). "Top-6 films from Berlinale's "The Weimar Touch" retrospective to watch over the weekend". Die Bärliner. Retrieved 4 May 2025.
External links
[edit]- Official website (in German)
