Anniversary Series at the Caligari FilmBühne
The building that houses the Caligari FilmBühne is turning 100. We would therefore like to invite you to an anniversary series that brings cinema and film history to life in this historic venue.
Eight silent film concerts, five new compositions, three lectures: From September through December, we’ll be presenting silent films as you’ve never heard them before. The occasion is the 100th anniversary of the building that now houses the Caligari. Built in 1926 as the “Ufa-Palast” with over 950 seats, it is one of the few fully preserved movie theater buildings from the silent film era in the Rhine-Main region. Reason enough to celebrate this occasion with a high-caliber anniversary series.
Reinterpretation, Participation, Reflection
In silent film concerts, distinguished contemporary musicians engage with classics from the silent film era, opening up new experiential spaces. In a participatory project, children and teenagers collaborate with a film composer to create a live musical accompaniment for an entertaining program of short films. A supporting program explores the far-reaching lines of rupture and continuity within the silent film legacy. Through these three pillars—reinterpretation, participation, and reflection—the series brings film history to life in a critical and engaging way.
Program Highlights in October
Following a successful launch, we will continue the series in October with two lectures and a silent film concert.
On Friday, October 8, at 5:30 p.m., (opens in a new tab) musicologist Dr. Dietrich Stern will use selected film examples to bring to life the close connection between moving images and music. His lecture offers the opportunity to explore and discuss Stern’s extensive research in the field of film music directly through the cinematic material.
On Sunday, October 11, at 5:00 p.m., (opens in a new tab) we will screen Rüdiger Suchsland’s documentary *FROM CALIGARI TO HITLER: GERMAN CINEMA IN THE AGE OF THE MASSES*. The director will be in attendance. In a conversation with film scholar Prof. Dr. Marcus Stiglegger, they will also address the question of how relevant Kracauer’s thesis—that cinema and mass culture serve as a seismograph for social upheavals—remains today.
On Thursday, October 22, at 7:00 p.m., (opens in a new tab) as part of a silent film concert, we will present Lotte Reiniger’s *THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED*. The first feature-length animated film in cinematic history will be screened with music by the German-Iranian ensemble Tanava, which bridges the gap between tradition and modernity.
Partners and Sponsors
The series is organized by the Cultural Affairs Office of the State Capital of Wiesbaden in cooperation with the DFF – German Film Institute & Film Museum and the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation. The series is sponsored by the Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, Hessen Film & Medien, and SV SparkassenVersicherung.
