When was the last time you went to the cinema and had an interesting conversation with other visitors, employees or the person who selected the film? Do you even know who put the program together – and why? And when was the last time you saw a film that told stories from your neighborhood or community?
Only a few people still understand the cinema as a space for discourse. The collective around Sinema Transtopia in Berlin-Wedding came together a few years ago to rethink the cinema as what it once was: a place of exchange and solidarity.
Going to the cinema used to be undoubtedly a communal experience. The first film my father saw in 1964 was shown in a public square in Atuntaqui, Ecuador. One of my aunts remembers dressing up in a red wool dress to go to the cinema while the neighbors offered homemade sweets outside the door. Going to the cinema signaled social inclusion and status, but also set in motion a dynamic that strengthened the community.
Galo E. Riveraborn in Ecuador, is a doctor of immunology, web developer and audiovisual artist. Since 2023, Galo has been working as a project coordinator and curator at Sinema Transtopia. Last year, Sinema Transtopia won the Lotte Eisner Prize from the Kinematheksverbund with its “innovative program and its discussion-friendly presentation” (jury). Info: www.sinematranstopia.com
Unfortunately, cinemas are being used less and less as social meeting places, and the pandemic has led to a drastic decline in cinema attendance. Today, most people consume audiovisual content alone and at home, with streaming platforms making personalized suggestions based on internet behavior that benefit big companies. This development favors individualistic societies that often do not do justice to the diversity and complexity of community.
The cinema can once again become a place for celebrating together and, above all, for conversations; a place where communities come to better understand themselves and each other. Conversations stimulated by films can also enrich future programming. Both the cinema and the community benefit from this feedback.
The program
The Filmerbe Festival “Restored”which runs at the Arsenal cinema until October 27th, is dedicated to this in its ninth edition Thema „Community“. In addition to workshops, lectures and discussion events, the German Cinematheque ten restored films, including from Mexico, the USA, France, Australia and the GDR.
As part of “Restored”, October 26th will also mark the 25th time Prize of the Cinematheque Association to community cinemas awarded to those who have made a contribution to a sophisticated and diverse cinema culture. Before that, the panel discussion will take place at 3:45 p.m. in the Arsenal cinema “Hands-on – building and developing alternative communities” with Malve Lippmann and Can Sungu, the founders of Sinema Transtopia. Program: www.deutsche-kinemathek.de
Every cinema has a responsibility to respond to the diversity of its audience. By advocating for intersectional perspectives and equal opportunities, the makers avoid developing programs that are aimed at an exclusive audience or simply at the commercial requirements of the film industry. In this way, historically neglected positions and perspectives from a wide range of social groups are given priority, ensuring a more diverse, contemporary program.
Identity, physical location, alliances
There is no one-size-fits-all solution; every cinema has different needs in its communities. The development of the Sinema Transtopia into an important cultural location in Berlin can only provide suggestions here. The founding three years ago was associated with special circumstances that cannot easily be transferred to other places.
But the conditions that make up a social space can be broken down into three criteria: a clear identity, a physical location and the building of trusting alliances. An identity is essential to define one’s positioning within the respective social environment. And as a social space, a cinema should be able to recognize the needs of its communities and design the program accordingly – and, if necessary, adapt it at any time.
At Sinema Transtopia in Berlin-Wedding, people from different local communities come together to watch films and discuss.
SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA (in capital letters) expresses its identity in its name. SİNEMA, with the Turkish letter ‘İ’, refers to its origins in a working-class neighborhood predominantly inhabited by migrants, where almost 40 percent of residents speak Turkish. Transtopia represents the utopian and at the same time transnational nature of the community.
Physical space is essential to a cinema; its design determines what can take place within it. Commercial cinemas must primarily focus on maximizing profits or seating comfort. With Sinema Transtopia we can focus more on interaction; for example, we work with many transnational communities. The cinema offers you an open space called Hane, which can be used as a stage, workshop room, dance floor, dining area or reading room.
Dialogue and interaction is also possible in the cinema.
Such places will determine the role of cinema in society in the future. It is therefore crucial to involve the audience, their employees and neighbors, regardless of their background or experience in the film or cultural industry. Because first of all it’s about listening. People are invited to make decisions, organize events and thus help shape the identity of the cinema. Partnership alliances help reach a broader range of communities.
Creating spaces for shared memories
Two Sinema Transtopia projects focus on such collaborations in particular. “Common Visions Berlin” is aimed at art collectives, diaspora organizations and activists. And the biennial “Cinema of Commoning” symposium examines international cinemas as social spaces, most recently with partnerships in Dar es Salaam, Tangier, Prizren, Beirut, Baku and Dakar.
More on the subject of cinema in the Tagesspiegel:
Berlin project spaces in danger There is a threat of clear-cutting in the independent scene Aras Örens Naunynstrasse films Berlin city history from a Turkish perspective The cinema project Sinema Transtopia Wedding and the world
In Octavio Cortázar’s film “Por Primera Vez” (1967), an older woman in rural Cuba says: “I’ve never been to the cinema before, but I imagine it like a party.” This imagination is essential to the cinema as a place to think about collaboration and community building.
We at Sinema Transtopia want to answer your question about who chose the film you just saw. You’ll probably meet this person at the bar after the screening. And maybe in the conversation you’ll even shape the future of cinema a little: by creating spaces that reflect shared experiences.
