May 3–7, 2026, 6pm
For the third time in its history, a new Arsenal Cinema is opening in Berlin: first in Schöneberg, then Potsdamer Platz and now Wedding. For the first time, everything that makes up the Arsenal Film Institute has been brought together under one roof: Berlinale Forum and Forum Expanded, the distribution department, the film and paper archives, the Campus—and now the cinema as well.
The result is a space where the Arsenal’s history—more than 60-year marked by continuity and change—will be carried into the future.
On May 3, Arsenal Cinema opens with the program Making Space, which continues until May 7. The opening night and the following four days offer a first glimpse into the wide range of cinematic possibilities.
The opening night, featuring a welcome by Stefanie Schulte Strathaus & Stefan Aue (Arsenal Filminstitut) and Bettina Ellerkamp & Jörg Heitmann (silent green), presents artistic works by Anja Dornieden and Juan David González Monroy, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Leos Carax, and Rachel Micallef Somerville. Rosa Barba will premiere her film MYTH AND MERCURY, completed in 2025, as a cinema premiere in analogue 35mm format.
The opening program, Making Space, establishes a dialogue between the holdings of the Arsenal Film Collection and new cinematic works. It marks the beginning of a long-term series of film screenings and events that explore the role of cinemas and other cultural venues in today’s political and social landscape. Each month, there will be a collaboration with a different institution or organization. The German title of the series is borrowed from a not-yet-translated book by film scholar and philosopher Heide Schlüpmann called Raumgeben—der Film dem Kino, which translates loosely as "film makes space for the cinema".
The Arsenal Filminstitut is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.
