Film Archive

 

We are moving! Our archives are temporarily closed as we are preparing to move to E-Werk. We will be back for you in the course of 2025. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about the reopening!

 

  • Viewing dates

    Mon and Thu 9:00–17:00

    Viewing dates in the film archive by appointment only. Requests should be sent to: filmarchiv [at] deutsche-kinemathek.de (filmarchiv[at]deutsche-kinemathek[dot]de)

    An overview of our holdings can be found in our film rental database.

    To the film rental database

The Film Archive of the Deutsche Kinemathek contains works from all eras of German and international filmmaking. This includes examples from all genres of feature and documentary films as well as experimental, ephemeral and amateur films such as home movies, advertising spots and trailers. 

Our collection is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather offer a curated survey for film researchers and the general public. The collection places a special focus on works from the early days of film, films from Berlin production companies, artistic documentary films, films from students at the German Film and Television Academy (DFFB), films from the Neue Deutsche Film wave of the 1960s and the “Berliner Schule” of the 1990s. Beyond this, attention is given to films that are not collected elsewhere in Germany and hence whose preservation is threatened.

Wherever the individual films of our collection have been secured as copies, duplicates or otherwise captured digitally, they are available for viewing in-house or can be arranged for presentations through our film loans department. Numerous other films are available in video formats for in-house viewing by visitors.

An initial overview of our holdings can be found in our film loans database (available only in German). To our film loan database

  • Sammlung Digital

    The Making of F. W. Murnau’s ‘Tabu’ – The Outtakes Edition

    17,500 meters of outtakes and extensive materials related to the making of Murnau’s ‘Story of the South Seas’

    To the online edition
  • Sammlung Digital

    DFFB Archive

    Nearly fifty years of history at the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB) are now online: our DFFB archive website hosts full-length films, interviews with people who made or experienced events firsthand and a broad range of relevant supporting documents.

    More information
  • Sammlung Digital

    Lost Films

    “Lost Films” is an internet portal aimed at collating information and documents on films that are considered lost. More than 3,500 titles are available for research.

    More information
  • Sammlung Digital

    European Film Gateway

    The EFG Portal gives you quick and easy access to hundreds of thousands of film historical documents as preserved in European film archives and cinémathèques.

    More information