City Cinema in Weinstadt: Featuring Films with Social Issues and Encouraging Discussion

Film shows that stand out from the mainstream, sometimes very bad ones focus on social issues and encourage discussion: This has been the main task of the city’s cinema since it was founded in the early 1990s. The special thing in Weinstadt: The cinema is not run by an association, but by the town itself – the cultural office can rely on a team of nine enthusiastic volunteers who are responsible for everything from choosing films to organizing exhibitions to operating the technology very familiar with .

The Stiftshof is where the town’s cinema is. The small cinema hall with 55 seats on wooden folding seats, is located right next to the jazz club Stiftskeller and Armer Konrad. The seats come from the 1950s, from the old Scheibesbach cinema. Last year, 2023, the city cinema organized 60 public films – most of them were well attended, many of them were sold out, the volunteers said.

Kino Weinstadt: What goes into the program is democratically decided

The volunteers choose their program based on film awards and festivals. “We have a cultural mandate to provide good cultural content,” said Jochen Beglau, head of the Weinstadt Cultural Office. The organizers keep this claim high: “We will indeed make a list,” reports Silvia Gesierich, who maintains contact with the film services for the city’s cinema and the configure the permissions. The team then votes on which films actually make it into the program. Excluded from this democratic process are collaborations, such as those with clubs, Lower Remstal Adult Education Center or schools.

The volunteer Silke Siegle is responsible for collaborations identified in the program as “Film Plus” (i.e. film screening and discussion): she communicates with the collaboration partners, seeks experienced experts or even inviting the director for a discussion in the Weinstadt cinema.

In addition to awards, global political events will always play an important role for program makers. “We deal with current events,” says team spokesperson Renate Of, who is also in charge of public relations at the Municipal Cinema Weinstadt. Recently, for example, films about the situation of women in Iran have been shown, There were four themed film screenings for International Women’s Dayfilms on the topic of climate or the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were shown.

Human rights films are popular, but so are art films

“What is most welcome are the human rights films,” said the head of the culture department. It is also important to the team to show some of the many different cultures located in the growing Weinstadt city cinema catchment area. The screening of the film “Seven Winters in Tehran” was the most impressive film night ever, says Jochen Beglau: “It was even in Farsi.”

In between, of course, there are always light films. The city’s cinema has a special focus on art and art house films, says Beglau. The diversity of the program ensures that the volunteers have a personal connection: as each person focuses on a slightly different interest. For example, one volunteer is very interested in cartoons, another is a special education nurse and includes special films from his professional perspective. For example, there was once a film about free learning and Montessori – and there were a lot of teachers from Weinstadt schools in the audience, reports Silke Siegle. “The color diversity is great,” she says.

There was also a film for Mobility Week and an event in front of the cinema where guests could code their bikes. “He was welcomed, it was a big queue,” says Silvia Gesierich. There will also be regular collaboration with wineries or the International Culinary Meeting.

Volunteers have their own areas of expertise

The volunteers take turns at the film screenings. Almost everyone can fully operate the technology, which ensures that the show does not have to be canceled because someone is sick, for example. “We are very grateful to be able to host such an ensuite activity,” said Jochen Beglau. Otherwise, all the volunteers have their own specific responsibilities within the company: Beate Reichenauer writes texts for the newsletter, for example, designs brochures, takes care of the home page and the cash account.

Frauke Jacobs, together with Silvia Gesierich and the cultural office, will take care of the counting of the films. Ulrich Heim is the person in charge of technology and communication with the caretaker, Gerd Krautwasser is the contact for the cultural office for everything related to technology or the purchase of drinks.

The Weinstadt cinema can be rented

In addition to normal activities, there are also special shows in the city cinema in Weinstadt: For children’s birthdays and other special days, everyone can rent the cinema privately – and co -decide for themselves which film should be shown. Ingrid Strohmaier is responsible for this and for the film on Tuesday afternoons with coffee and cake, together with Gabi Mohr, who specializes in children’s films and shows as part of the collaboration with the adult education center. The special shows are also very popular: in 2023, according to information from the Cultural Office, the city’s cinema was rented out for a total of 58 hours.

A total of 5,000 guests came here last year, a number that the volunteers and indeed the cultural office are very proud of. In general, the Weinstadt Municipal cinema has enjoyed a growing audience and a growing catchment area since the Corona pandemic. “It just shows that the program is right,” concluded the head of the culture office with satisfaction.

The positive response certainly has something to do with the fact that the city’s cinema has been trying for some time to reach people better with even more targeted advertising and to make the offer even more popular. The entry price for a standard performance is currently five euros per ticket. This is only possible because the presence of a cinema is subsidized by the city. “We have a budget of 28,000 euros,” said Jochen Beglau. “We usually stay below that. ” Last year the cinema had an income of around 9,000 euros.

How long does the projector last?

There are no major investments planned in the near future. The wooden seats are still there because they are just gorgeous, and there are seat cushions for visitors. The sound system was rebuilt a few years ago. There are still several construction sites: “Certainly, there are problems,” said Silke Siegel. For example, the system relies on a CD system that relies on DVD or Blu-Ray: This means that some films can no longer be rented because they are only available digitally.

The volunteers then have to deal with that. The only thing that worries the town and the volunteers is the projector: It is still running now, but it is getting very old: “The quality of the color has decreased,” says Silke Siegle, “the bulbs are very valuable.” If they eventually break, it’s only worth buying a new project. The town will deal with this when the time really comes. “It is still running,” says the head of the culture department: “We are monitoring it.”