"Esplanade" and "In the Heart of Berlin—Moments at Potsdamer Platz"

Kinemathek – Art House Cinema

Zwei Frauen sitzen vor einem roten Hintergrund und betrachten einen glitzernden Gegenstand. – Zwei Frauen sitzen vor einem roten Hintergrund und betrachten einen glitzernden Gegenstand.

Only small parts of the legendary Hotel Esplanade survived the war-induced demolition of what was once the vibrant center of Berlin around Potsdamer Platz—and it fell victim to redevelopment after the political upheaval. In the years leading up to this upheaval, the remnants of the building, located directly next to the Berlin Wall, became a place of longing—both as a film set and as a designated film house. The promotional film on the “Heart of Berlin,” commissioned by the Senate, also mentions the Filmhaus, which is set to find a home in the newly emerging “urban center.” The documentaries about Potsdamer Platz, captured on 16mm film, can be read as an archaeological record of the Filmhaus’s plans. In a city of constant upheaval, the Deutsche Kinemathek has now found its temporary home in the former E-Werk. Our 16mm Film Club invites you on a journey into its prehistory.

›Esplanade‹, West Germany 1985, directed by Wilma Pradetto and Helmut-Ulrich Weiss, 16mm, German original version, 51 min
›In the Heart of Berlin – Moments at Potsdamer Platz‹, Germany 1993, Jürgen Haese, 16mm, 18 min

With an introduction by Rolf Aurich from the Deutsche Kinemathek

Translated with DeepL

Price: €7.00

Reduced price: €5.00

Next date:

• Date Tuesday, 14/July/2026 19:00
• Venue Deutsche Kinemathek
• Address Mauerstraße 79, 10117 Berlin-Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin