The Deutsche Kinemathek moves into new premises

Press release

The Deutsche Kinemathek is delighted to be continuing its work in these attractive and historic premises on Mauerstraße from next year. Formerly one of the central hubs of industrial and technological development in turn-of-the-century Berlin, the E-Werk became a refuge for the Berlin club scene in the 1990s. Now, this monument to past industries, with its 4,000 m2 floorspace, will house offices and archives, as well as public spaces aimed at presenting film and television culture.

During the transition period until the planned future film house is completed, the great hall on the ground floor and the former counter area – both prime examples of industrial architecture – will offer a spectacular setting for experimental formats. We will be exploring such future-facing projects with both national and international partners.

Our well-established series such as “Filmspotting”, “Fernsehsalon”, “Aus dem Fernseharchiv”, the “Film Restored” Film Heritage Festival and our educational programme and existing partnerships, like the one with the Berlinale, will continue in the E-Werk on Mauerstraße and in other new locations.

In addition, we will offer a studio cinema, which can also be used for educational purposes, and will be available for use by external partners. Our library and its collection of historic film and TV materials, as well as the viewing equipment it has provided up until now, will be moving into Mauerstraße and be accessible to the general public, as will the Mediathek Fernsehen television archive and its over 13,000 programmes.

Our Film Distribution department will expand its portfolio thanks to the continued restoration and digitalisation of the film archive. All the collections that have been used intensively at Potsdamer Platz up until now (the Photo Archive, the Document Archive, the Personal Papers and Company Archive, parts of the Marlene Dietrich Archive etc.) will also be accessible at Mauerstraße. Due to lack of space and financial constraints, other collections will be moved from Potsdamer Platz to Imhoffweg. This will also apply to exhibits from the permanent exhibition. We will continue providing inter-library loans independently of this, and expanding our collections.

Our permanent exhibition will also be affected by the move. The exhibition at the Museum für Film und Fernsehen am Potsdamer Platz, which has existed for 24 years, and been updated several times, will close at the end of October 2024. Until then, visitors to the museum still have one last chance to view this exhibition on film and TV history, the only one of its kind in Germany. Once we move into our new location in the E-Werk, we will be developing pop-up exhibitions for the space available.

We will be sending out separate invitations to a press visit to be held in the first quarter of 2025 in the E-Werk, Mauerstraße 79, 10117 Berlin.