VI. Weimar Silent Film Retrospective Presents Films from 1924 as Part of the Kunstfest Weimar
From 26 August to 6 September, the 6th »Weimarer Stummfilm-Retrospektive«, together with the Media Studies Department and the University Library, will be screening a selection of silent films under the slogan »Weltenecho! Filme der Weimarer Republik in den Weimarer Kinos 1924«. The event, which has established itself as a permanent fixture in the Kunstfest Weimar programme, will provide insights into one of the most influential periods in film history. Over ten evenings, a total of 20 films that played in Weimar cinemas in 1924 will be screened at the Lichthaus-Kino Weimar.
While the Weimar Republic was recovering from the inflation of 1924, people sought distraction in Weimar’s two cinemas, which offered daily screenings and programmes that changed weekly. Marienstraße 1 was home to the »Held Licht-Spiele« cinema run by court photographer Louis Held, and Marktstraße 20 was the location of the »Lichtspiele vorm. Th. Scherff«. The cinemas’ schedules represented a cross-section of Germany’s everyday cinema life in 1924. A total of 463 feature films and shorts of all genres were shown. Once the war-related restrictions eased, the number of foreign productions, especially American ones, rose to 220 titles. Of the 463 films, curators of the silent film event were able to find around 170 that still existed, of which many were only preserved in fragments. From these films, 20 were selected.
The focus of this year’s event is on films from 1924 that were considered »highlights« and were forced to adapt to economic conditions and state regulations of the time. Alongside historic newsreels, introductions, lectures and discussions with film, culture and music experts, all of the screenings are accompanied by live music from internationally renowned silent film musicians. After each event, the audience will be given the opportunity to discuss the films with the event organisers and experts in our »Cine-Corner« in the Lichthaus Kino. On the final day of the event, 6 September, the film »Ausgerechnet Wolkenkratzer« will be screened in the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Audimax and accompanied by the Thuringian Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach.
The complete programme can be found at: https://www.uni-weimar.de/de/universitaet/struktur/zentrale-einrichtungen/universitaetsbibliothek/recherche/fachinformationen/fachreferat-medien-und-kulturwissenschaften/stummfilm-retrospektive/
Event Organisers:
The Faculty of Media’s Media Studies Department at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar University Library, the Lichthaus Kino Weimar, the Stadtarchiv Weimar, Kunstfest Weimar
Funding:
Thüringer Staatskanzlei, Sparkasse Mittelthüringen, Stadt Weimar, Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Thüringen, Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
To order tickets and for further information: www.kunstfest-weimar.de/festival/programm/details/weltenecho-filme-der-weimarer-republik-in-den-weimarer-kinos-1924
http://lichthaus.info/cmsData/bild/Stummfilmretro_2024_Weltenecho!_Programm.pdf
https://www.uni-weimar.de/de/universitaet/struktur/zentrale-einrichtungen/universitaetsbibliothek/recherche/fachinformationen/fachreferat-medien-und-kulturwissenschaften/stummfilm-retrospektive/
In case of questions, please contact Dr. Simon Frisch, Film and Media Studies instructor, by e-mail: simon.frisch[at]uni-weimar.de or by phone: +49 (0) 36 43/58 37 37 or Dr. Katrin Richter, University Library, by e-mail: katrin.richter[at]uni-weimar.de or by phone: +49 (0) 36 43/58 28 03.