2024 is a milestone year for the DFF. Not only will the Schaumainkai location celebrate the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Deutsches Filmmuseum (on June 7, 1984), but the DFF will also proudly mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Deutsches Institut für Filmwissenschaft (DIF) in Wiesbaden on April 13, 1949. Over the years, the DIF became the German Film Institute and now the DFF, incorporating the Film Museum and the DFF Cinema.
In honor of this rich history, the DFF invites everyone to a festive three-day Open House, June 7-9, packed with family-friendly activities. Enjoy free admission to the museum from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. The celebration includes a raffle, food truck, free tours, fascinating magic lantern shows, and a special reading in the DFF theater on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Don’t miss the permanent exhibition’s Constellations project, which brings the museum experience into the digital age.
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
– Free admission to the museum, with all program offerings included.
– Photo exhibition featuring prominent DFF guests in the cinema foyer.
– Reading corner with exhibition catalogs from 40 years of the Film Museum in the cinema foyer.
– Permanent exhibition: Explore the KONSTELLATIONEN // CONSTELLATIONS project, which brings the museum experience into the digital realm.
Paid special screening at 2:30 PM in the children’s cinema series:
SPIRITED AWAY
(Japan 2001. Dir: Hayao Miyazaki. 125 min. German dubbed)
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.:
– Free admission to the museum, with all program offerings included.
– Photo exhibition featuring prominent DFF guests in the cinema foyer.
– Reading corner with exhibition catalogs from 40 years of the Film Museum in the cinema foyer.
– Permanent exhibition: Explore the KONSTELLATIONEN // CONSTELLATIONS project, which brings the museum experience into the digital realm.
1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.:
– Guided Tours through the Permanent Exhibition
2 p.m.:
– early Films from Frankfurt (1896 through 1936) at the DFF cinema
4 p.m.:
– Magic Lantern Show for the whole family at the DFF cinema
6 p.m.:
– Magic Lantern Show for the whole family at the DFF cinema
2 – 6 p.m.:
– Visitors can transport themselves into their favorite film in the film studio on the 4th floor or glide through the Frankfurt skyline on a flying carpet.
Paid film screening at 8 p.m.:
AND THE KING SAID, WHAT A FANTASTIC MACHINE
(Sweden/Denmark 2023. Dirs.: Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryc. 88 mins.)
From the birth of the Camera Obscura to the screening of the first moving image, and from the invention of the webcam to the first viral video, this witty and thought-provoking documentary traces the rise of visual culture as we know it.
11 a.m. – 6 p.m.:
– Free admission to the museum, with all program offerings included.
– Photo exhibition featuring prominent DFF guests in the cinema foyer.
– Reading corner with exhibition catalogs from 40 years of the Film Museum in the cinema foyer.
– Permanent exhibition: Explore the KONSTELLATIONEN // CONSTELLATIONS project, which brings the museum experience into the digital realm.
1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.:
– Guided Tours through the Permanent Exhibition
2 p.m.:
– early Films from Frankfurt (1896 through 1936) at the DFF cinema
2 – 6 p.m.:
– Visitors can transport themselves into their favorite film in the film studio on the 4th floor or glide through the Frankfurt skyline on a flying carpet.
3 p.m.: (approx. 1 hour)
Interactive for kids: Enchanting Stories with the Magic Lantern
Paid special screening at 4.30 p.m.:
Mit Wolkenkratzer und Handtasche: Stephan Ahrens presents his book, in which he explores the history of film museums. In addition, WAS GESCHAH WIRKLICH ZWISCHEN DEN BILDERN (BRD 1985. Dir.: Werner Nekes. 83 mins.) will be screened.
The program ends on Sunday, June 9, at 6 p.m..
Sunday, June 9, 7 p.m.:
Film screening in our What’s New in German Film? series:
STERBEN (DE 2024, Dir.: Matthias Glasner), post-screening conversation with lead actress Corinna Harfouch
The institution now known as DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum, emerged from a series of mergers, resulting in a large organization with seven locations and approximately 200 employees (including freelancers, student assistants, and interns). Its origins trace back to the founding of the German Institute for Film Studies (DIF) in Wiesbaden on April 13, 1949, making it Germany’s oldest film historical institution. A current research project at the DFF focuses on a critical biography of the institute’s founder, Hanns Wilhelm Lavies, who was likely a member of Hitler’s Nazi party NSDAP and was associated with the Ufa-Lehrschau in the late 1930s.
The institution’s collection efforts initially focused on the film archive (initially around 1,000 copies, now around 31,000) as well as books, magazines, press clippings, film programs, censorship documents, and other paper materials. From the outset, the DIF emphasized its goal of serving as a service provider for scholarly use. A direct line can be drawn from the former documentation and information department of the DIF to today’s publicly accessible, database-supported online projects.
The Museum
In 1976, the city of Frankfurt am Main acquired the film archive of local film collector Paul Sauerlaender. It was one of the largest German collections of film history, compiled by private individuals before and after World War II. The film copies, photos, posters, equipment, and a unique collection of silent film music initially became part of the city’s Historical Museum. However, the success of the Kommunales Kino (municipal cinema), founded in 1971, and the richness of the Sauerlaender collection fueled the desire to establish a dedicated film museum in Frankfurt. The German Film Museum was opened on June 7, 1984, providing a unique exploration of film, its history and present, theory, and aesthetics to both experts and the interested public. The museum’s permanent exhibition extensively addressed the diversity of international visual media from the 18th and 19th centuries to the invention of film, as well as the aesthetic form, function, and impact achieved by film as an art form. Even after a major renovation in 2011, which completely modernized the museum’s infrastructure, these programmatic focuses were retained.
The Cinema
The DFF cinema, founded in 1971 as a municipal cinema, remains true to its founding idea. Every year, it hosts around 900 film screenings, with numerous visits from filmmakers who discuss their works in moderated film discussions, always showing the films in the original language and as close to the original format as possible.
The Merger
The municipal cinema moved into the museum’s building when it opened in 1984, as did the private-public DIF, which relocated some of its central departments from Wiesbaden to the Frankfurt museum. After heated discussions about the possible closure of the cinema (culture vs. profitability), the museum took over the cinema in 1993 – thereby saving it. In 2006, after years of debate and negotiations, the film museum was formally integrated into the smaller but more flexible DIF.
The advantages of the merger were obvious: a pooling of expertise and resources that enabled versatile film historical projects and collaborations.
The DFF has long since become a national pioneer in film digitization and film education, data management, and digital projects. As a participant in the 360-degree project of the Federal Cultural Foundation since 2020, the DFF has been working intensively to diversify and reach new target groups. The museum is expanding into the digital space through projects like Constellation 2.0, integrating virtual storylines into its collections and those of the acmi Museum in Melbourne, Australia.
The exhibitions and public offerings of the DFF attract visitors from the region and around the world to the museum annually. Online offerings, including virtual exhibitions, streaming content, podcasts, and film education websites, also attract a significant audience.
With the relocation of the non-film archive to Eschersheimer Landstraße in 2019, the DFF established a research cluster in the heart of Frankfurt. Highlights of recent years have included participation in the acquisition of significant collections and the joint Master’s program in Film Culture offered with the neighboring Goethe University.
The institution’s activities extend from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden and have an impact throughout Hesse, Germany, and internationally. The renaming of the entire institution to DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum – in 2019 marked a symbolic conclusion to the important integration process.
