About Us

Communicating film culture in lively fashion is the goal and mission of Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art. Working at the interface between theory and practice, the institute develops discursive formats, sets its sights on independent, experimental film in its cinemas, and promotes a dynamic exchange between film, academia, and art in its role as a communication platform within an international network.

The institution’s work comprises operating the Arsenal 1 and 2 cinemas, putting on the Berlinale Forum and Forum Expanded, our distribution wing arsenal distribution, and our comprehensive archival practice (“Living Archive”), which is based on participation and production. All these areas of activity are characterized by intensive service, communication, and educational work.  

Our online cinema arsenal 3 expands Arsenal’s activities into digital space. First set-up last august, the streaming service for Arsenal members was abruptly retooled into a publicly accessible virtual cinema at the start of the lockdown in March: by the end of June, seven programs each comprising around 20 films from the Arsenal collection had been screened there, as well as a festival.

With the reopening of the Arsenal cinemas at Potsdamer Platz, arsenal 3 now presents a new concept: as a space for associations, reactions, and foot notes, the arsenal 3 program will in the future be making reference to the specific activities being carried out by the institution: to the cinema program, but also to our distribution range or archival work. It’s not so much about extending specific film series from the cinema into the virtual space, nor is the focus on streaming the most recent additions to our distribution range or new restorations. arsenal 3 is more of an experiment, with the idea also being to further hone the relationship between analogue cinema and digital space.