Low-barrier, air-conditioned and breastfeeding-friendly
Us – Kinemathek Karlsruhe
at the cinema
Original version with German subtitles | (e) English subtitles
Screening with introduction/film talk
Saal Held in the Saal | Box Held in the Box | Out & about open air & other venues
The story of the Kinemathek Karlsruhe began almost 50 years ago. Back then, members of the Akademisches Filmstudio (AFK) at the university and of the left-alternative Werkstatt 68 formed an "initiative group for a municipal cinema", encouraged by the example of the first Kommunales Kino in Frankfurt. After a two-month trial period at the Anne Frank youth centre, the association "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kommunales Kino Karlsruhe" was founded in September 1974.
Modest public funding began in 1976. The city administration took issue with the name "Kommunales" Kino, since the cinema was not municipally run — and never would be. From the turn of the year 1978 the association operated as "Das Kino. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Film e.V.".
From the very beginning it showed films that stand little chance in commercial cinemas: auteur films, film classics, silent films, experimental and avant-garde films, films from all over the world, films in their original versions, thematic retrospectives, screenings with commentary or discussion, silent films with live piano accompaniment.
In 1981 "Das Kino" moved into the newly fitted-out basement of the Prinz-Max-Palais. The secure base led to increased activity and stronger support from the city.
It was the "Kino's" idea to curate film series to accompany exhibitions and event programmes. The Kunsthalle, the Badischer Kunstverein, the Musikhochschule, the Jubez and others took up this offer. From the start, "Das Kino" has contributed its own programme to the Europäische Kulturtage (EKT) and to "Frauenperspektiven". The association is a co-organiser of PRIDE PICTURES.
In 1993 the association and the cinema were renamed Kinemathek, and in 2010 it settled at its current venue at Kaiserpassage 6.
In our foyer — where cinema painters once mounted large-scale canvases advertising the film hits of the day — the PhonoLuxMaschine has been installed since 2020. Two projectors are aligned with each other by means of mapping software, generating a variety of light plays that also shine through the Kinemathek's glass façade onto the square in the Passagehof.
Since 2025 the Kinemathek has been run according to the principles of sociocracy — an organisational model based on the equal worth of everyone involved and on decision-making by consent.