BoxOffice® Pro - June 2013

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Berlin’s Kino International incites and inspires moviegoers’
political passions
The most hopeful
theater in the world
by Inkoo Kang
n The Kino International in Berlin is a monument
to the promise of a better day. Built in
1963 on Karl Marx Avenue, the single-screener
was the largest and most prestigious movie
theater in East Germany, a country founded on
the hope of escaping the evils of capitalism. A
few decades later, the Kino became the site of
a very different liberation movement when it
hosted the premiere of East Germany’s first gaythemed
movie, aptly named Coming Out. That
night, the Berlin Wall fell. When the lights
went up, the Kino’s patrons walked out of the
theater and into a new era.
Today the Kino International is one of the
world’s most historically significant theaters,
a testament to the belief that great art makes
great people. With its austerely elegant,
Soviet-influenced design, the theater serves
as a bridge between Berlin’s socialist past and
worldly present. Different generations have
disagreed on whether capitalism, communism,
or homophobia is most to blame for humanity’s
woes, but all have battled for political and
social freedom at the movies.
In fact, it’s entirely fitting that East Germany
would erect a picture palace as one of its
main cultural landmarks. The partitioning of
Germany after World War II left East Berlin
with a hefty advantage in film production. The
new nation was heir to most of the country’s
movie infrastructure, including the state
studio DEFA. During East Germany’s 44-year
existence, DEFA enjoyed a virtual monopoly
on film production and made more than 900
features, 800 animated films, and more than
3,000 documentaries and shorts. The Kino
International (“Kino” is the German word for
cinema) was constructed along the government
parade route to showcase two of the socialist
regime’s most innovative—and politically malleable—arts:
film and architecture.
Under Red rule, the Kino was a glamorous
stage for theater, both cinematic and political.
The three-story concrete structure was the
favored locale for premieres, usually of official
DEFA or Russian films. A handful of Western
movies, like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
and Dirty Dancing, also debuted there, though
many were cut to match the ideals of the socialist
state. Eight rows with optimal views and
extra legroom were reserved for party chieftains
and their guests.
After the screenings, the apparatchiks retired
to a VIP lounge called the “Representation
Room.” Less important patrons were welcome
to take in GDR glamour at its finest—the magnificent
chandelier and twin staircases in the
lobby, the glittering silver curtains and stylish
wood paneling in the inclined viewing hall, and
the panoramic glass walls on the second floor
that overlook the stately streets below. Were a
global catastrophe to occur, a nuclear bunker in
the basement would theoretically provide some
blast protection, if only for the political elite.
Grandness wasn’t just limited to aesthetics,
of course. At the time of construction, the Kino
boasted a cutting-edge combination of acoustics
and architecture. Its unusual, undulating
ceiling reflected more sound to the audience,
as did the walls, which were covered with offset
wood panels with open joints, then a major
innovation.
Even the masses that had no hope of ever
attending a premiere could appreciate the
regime’s artistic contributions from outside the
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18 BoxOffice ® Pro The Business of Movies june 2013