Filmstudio

In 1988, the Filmstudio showed the classic film Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944, directed by Helmut Weiss) for the first time in November. There was such a huge rush that the event was extended to three lecture halls the following year. But even these rooms were soon far from sufficient. In the heyday of the screening of this film, at the end of the 90s, more than 7000 viewers saw the film in a total of 12 events in 6 different auditoriums.

But as with so many things, the good ol' days must come to an end at some point. The Filmstudio, too, had to swallow this bitter pill. Audience numbers plummeted in the 2000s. For a long time, only 6 events were planned: 2 each in the Aula, the Fo1 and the Fo2 in the Kármán Auditorium. But even these were visibly less well attended. In 2017, the time had come to close the Kármán Auditorium. Due to the sharp drop in audience numbers, the Filmstudio decided to screen only two events in the auditorium. Even these did not sell out. For the first time ever, less than 1000 viewers went to see the movie in the Filmstudio. It was the end of an era.

In 2018, the Filmstudio attempts to revitalize the film by pairing it with another, somewhat more modern classic, Animal House (1978, directed by John Landis), which was already considered a cult film, at least in the USA. Under the event name Die Filmstudio Lehrjahre, these two school and college-related films were shown as a double feature in November 2018 and 2019. However, the anticipated run on the new cult event more or less failed to materialize in those two years - and in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spanner in the works anyway.

After only a few film screenings in the fall of 2020 (when we still thought the pandemic was already over...), the Filmstudio only resumed regular film operations in the fall of 2021 under hygiene regulations.
As luck would have it, that year also marks the 65th anniversaryof the Filmstudio since its founding in 1956. To celebrate this event in style, the Filmstudio sets off for new shores and the Filmstudio Special Week is launched: Filmstudio invited its viewers to three classic films and - for the first time - the Filmstudio Pub Quiz.
The new concept of the Special Week (it sounds lame in English, we know, but we promise it sounds much cooler in German, for some reason...) is not a box office hit at first, but leaves more space for celebrating different aspects and themes of the world of cinema - which is a lot of fun, most of all for the Filmstudio team. What's more, after three years of Filmstudio Special Week, it has become clear: The Pub Quiz is particularly popular with our film nerd friends out there.

Will Die Feuerzangenbowle no longer be shown at all? Will there always be a Special Week from now on? Is the Pub Quiz the new culty Filmstudio winter event?
Only time will tell...
Either way, here's what we've discovered: Life (and especially our student days!) is too short to stick with something just for the sake of tradition, when many have long lost interest in it.
We simply want to continue showing good movies and plan fun events that bring us and you joy - and maybe we even succeed in this, from time to time ;)