About – AG KINO

Passionate about Cinema for More Than 60 Years!

In 2003, two cinema associations rich in tradition, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kino (founded in 1972) and the Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater (founded in 1953) were joined together into the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kino – Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater e.V., or AG Kino – Gilde e.V. for short.

In the interim, the association now includes over 300 independent film arts and art house cinemas throughout Germany. More than 40 distributors, associations and companies are exceptional members that support the association, which has been based in Berlin since 2000.

Our Goals:

The AG Kino – Gilde e.V. represents to the outside world the common interests of movie theaters devoted to the cinematic arts. It lobbies for them when they are faced with corporate groups, authorities, associations and on a political level, and it supports these movie theaters in their day-to-day work. The association is part of the European cinema network CICAE, and is represented in the leading committees of the film industry and state-supported film promotion.

The AG Kino – Gilde e.V. advocates:

for the political and economic interests of its members both within the film industry and to the outside world
for locally and regionally established, ambitious and dedicated cinemas – in particular for their stabilization in the new federal states (former East Germany)
for an intensive exchange among the (cinema arts and art house) movie theater operators within both a national and a European framework
for an increase in social appreciation for more ambitious films and for the diverse services of the (cinema arts and art house) movie theaters
for the fortification of ambitious German and European films and international independent productions
for a funding policy that takes into account the importance of the cinema as an indispensable cultural and social venue, as well as the first and most important evaluation platform for film as an economic asset
for a controlled digitalization process, which extensively considers the interests, needs and possibilities of the art house cinema market
for more film and movie theater offers for children and teenagers, and an expansion of media education
for cooperation with distributors in regional marketing
for more films in the original language and original versions with subtitles