To kick off the event, director and Oscar winner Volker Schlöndorff will personally introduce his latest film, “Heimsuchung – Eine Jahrhundertgeschichte,” at a public screening on Thursday, December 3, at 5 p.m. Tickets will be available starting Monday, November 9, at caligari.wiesbaden.de (opens in a new tab).

“Volker Schlöndorff is a key supporter of community cinemas, and especially the Caligari FilmBühne,” says Dr. Patricia Becher, Head of the Cultural Affairs Department. “I am delighted that the Federal Association of Municipal Film Work (Bundesverband der kommunalen Filmarbeit e.V.) is holding its congress in Wiesbaden this year, and specifically at the Caligari FilmBühne, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.”

How can movie theaters fulfill their social responsibility without losing their programmatic freedom under the pressure of public expectations? The 21st Federal Congress of Municipal Movie Theaters will address this question through lectures, panels, and discussion sessions. The focus is on addressing social polarization and the question of how movie theaters can confidently shape their role as spaces of democratic public life.

Cinemas are cultural gathering places. As so-called “third places,” they create space for encounters and exchange. Through their programming, municipal cinemas open up new perspectives and facilitate discussions on socially relevant topics. At the same time, cinemas are coming under increasing pressure: polarized debates, intensified criticism, and conflicting expectations are making programming more difficult. Cinema professionals are increasingly confronted with the question of which topics they can show and how they should deal with controversial reactions.

The conference addresses these challenges. It brings together stakeholders in the film industry to exchange experiences and explore possible courses of action. The goal is to reduce uncertainty and provide tools for confidently navigating conflicts and, at times, contradictory public expectations.

This also involves a fundamental tension: Public discourse about cinema as an art and cultural form is expressly encouraged and is part of its democratic function. But how can one deal with criticism when the exchange is no longer constructive or when cultural work is tied to certain conditions? And what if loud demands lead to unreasonable expectations regarding the nature of one’s own work?

At the start of the professional program, Andreas Heidenreich (President of the Federal Association of Municipal Film Work), Christine Berg (Chair of the Executive Board of the Main Association of German Film Theaters), Christopher Bausch (Board Member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kino), and Katja Hergenhahn (Co-Chair of the Hessian Cultural Council, theater producer, and, among other roles, Director of the Frankfurt Theater School) will discuss these issues. They will discuss how the cinema industry can position itself and collectively represent its interests and needs in light of current societal challenges.

A key highlight of Saturday’s program is the lecture by Prof. Friedhelm Hufen (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz), who will examine the principle of neutrality from a legal perspective. Together with the participants, he will explore the question of whether this principle serves fair political competition or whether it can restrict opportunities for action in culture, education, and politics.

Practical aspects are not neglected either: An interactive lecture on crisis communication provides insights into how to handle conflicts and public controversies. The “Denk-Räume – Kino selbstbewusst” sessions offer an opportunity to explore the identity of cinema as a political institution as well as issues surrounding legally sound association bylaws.

Andreas Heidenreich says: “With this program, we’re addressing one of the most pressing issues currently facing our industry—an issue that is reflected in the broader cultural landscape, far beyond the boundaries of the cinema. Our goal is to provide the tools and confidence so that cinema professionals and cultural creators can continue to carry out their important work with self-assurance. The historic Caligari FilmBühne, a beacon of community-based film work, is exactly the right place for this. We’re looking forward to Wiesbaden!”

In addition to professional exchanges, the film program is an integral part of the conference. The event kicks off on Thursday with “Heimsuchung” (2026) in the presence of Volker Schlöndorff, who will open the conference at the public screening and follow the showing with a discussion. Schlöndorff’s film adaptation of Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel “Heimsuchung” tells the story of a house by a lake near Berlin and the life journeys of its changing residents. Their stories are intertwined with the major political and social upheavals of the 20th century, from the Weimar Republic through Nazism and the war to the GDR and the post-reunification era.