The Zeughauskino

Zeughauskino is an archive film cinema specialising in retrospectives. Since the beginning of 2023, the cinema has been located in an interim venue—the Pei Building of the German Historical Museum. Zeughauskino aims to convey that engaging with film history is an entertaining, enjoyable and insightful pursuit. This is connected with the experience that film archives hold an almost inexhaustible trove of works, which are just as rewarding to perceive as aesthetic objects and to read as historical documents as they are to connect with issues of today.

The film series presented at Zeughauskino are created, in part, as programs to accompany the exhibitions, which address the topics and concepts of the temporary exhibitions at the Deutsches Historisches Museum. However, the majority of the program is independent from the museum's exhibition program. It engages with (film) historical debates, focuses on overlooked aspects of film history or looks at familiar topics from an unusual perspective.

The aim of bringing film history to life and inspiring people is explored in a variety of formats. A central element involves short introductions to the films by experts—curators, film historians and artists—who explain historical backgrounds or point out aesthetic nuances. In addition, there are discussions with directors, cinematographers or other filmmakers.

At Zeughauskino, many analogue film prints are shown. This means that the audience is invited to an almost historical experience: the screening of 35mm copies. These offer a completely different materiality than digital film copies. The fading between acts or the rattling of a cinema projector can be an unusual, irritating experience for a young audience.