This large-format media installation invites visitors to travel through 130 years of German film history. Production stills from the Deutsche Kinemathek archives show film shoots and offer rare insights into production processes. Combined with film clips, the images reveal how technology and dramatization shape the atmosphere and aesthetics of a film. Interspersed throughout are close-ups of faces: actors from various eras whose portraits come together to form a moving sequence of images – from Asta Nielsen to Sibel Kekilli, from Peter Lorre to Daniel Brühl, from Heinz Rühmann to Diane Kruger.

In the galleries and drawers of the Collection Wall, the Kinemathek displays selected exhibits from its film-related holdings: postcards of stars, costumes, film equipment, and business and production documents. Here, film history becomes tangible as a work process. The focus is on cinematic images of Berlin life in the 1920s, as re-staged in international productions of the 1970s. In addition, film clips and exhibits from the archives of Ulrike Ottinger, Fatih Akin and Christian Petzold provide a wide range of perspectives on artistic practice, from script development and dramatization to collaboration in a team.

Three entertaining programs showcase the creativity of independent filmmaking from 1910 to the 1990s. Experimental, feature and documentary films provide a variety of perspectives on cinematic forms of expression. “All in Motion” explores film as movement in five works spanning four decades; “Female Perspectives” presents the versatility of female creativity since 1966 in seven films; “Animation for Kids” features films with various animation techniques from the DEFA animation studio, providing entertainment for children and families. The Studiokino will be open to the public throughout the opening times of the “Screentime” exhibition.

The scenography by design agency chezweitz brings together the existing industrial architecture of E-Werk as a former power plant with audiovisual installations. The space is given structure via semi-transparent textile surfaces on which large-format projections present film history in segments and in motion. Light, film sequences and objects interact in ever-changing arrangements. Along the gallery and at the front of the Hall, selected exhibits provide insights into our collection and archive work. Two viewing areas allow visitors to explore television history, while a colorful seating area invites people to stay awhile. The Hall has been turned into a vibrant place of audiovisual heritage.

Daily 10:00–18:00

€10 regular, €7 concessions, children free

You can purchase tickets in our online ticket shop and in the foyer of the Kinemathek (please note: cash payment is not possible).