Cinemas and film festivals

Eager for films, cinema and celebrities

Berlin’s cinemas offer exciting diversity – besides major multiplexes showing the latest blockbusters, you’ll also find arthouse cinemas with discerning programmes and charming historic cinemas. As a moviegoer in Berlin, you’ll be spoilt for choice every day: the latest mainstream hype, experimental art film or classic masterpiece rerun? Take your pick. We’ve put together a list of tips for a particularly special cinema experience.

Zoo Palast: Cinema in Berlin — © Zoo Palast, Foto: Jan Bitter

Cinemas

Our recommendations

Cinema Zoo Palast in Berlin — © Zoo Palast, Foto: Jan Bitter

History of film in Berlin

When the pictures learnt to move ...

Berlinale: George Clooney at International Film fetsival Berlin 2014 — © KARSTEN THIELKER

VIP spotting

Where's the party?

Open air cinemas

Movies under the spangled sky

Film city Berlin: Where a film set turns into reality

From the heart of the city to the neighborhoods, from the river Spree to the lakes, from the rooftops to the underground, from the streets into nature: Where a film set turns into reality - Film city Berlin!

Film locations

What was shot where?

Queen’s Gambit: Karl-Marx-Allee

The hit production Queen's Gambit is set in the USA, Moscow and Paris, but was mostly filmed in and around Berlin. It tells the story of the chess genius Beth, who excels at the chessboard but has to struggle with inner demons.

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Unorthodox: Wannsee lido

In the Netflix series Unorthodox, one of the key scenes takes place at Strandbad Wannsee.

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Bicycle tour to the Glienicker Bridge_en

Glienicke Bridge: Bridge of Spies

In the south, the Glienicke Bridge connects Berlin and Potsdam. At the time of German division, it connected East and West and therefore served several times for prisoner exchanges between the Americans and Russians. The story behind such an exchange …

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Inglourious Basterds

For the shooting of his hit film Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino came to Germany in 2008, where he shot numerous scenes in Brandenburg and especially in Berlin. T

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Underground station Messe Nord/ICC in Berlin

Subway at ICC - various films

The orange tiles and columns are THE film motif from Berlin par excellence - even more than the Brandenburg Gate or the Reichstag.

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Oberbaumbrücke: “Run, Lola, run” / “Unknown”

The Oberbaumbrücke between the Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg districts played a key role in the film “Run, Lola, run” by Tom Tykwer as well as the action thriller “Unknown” with Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger.

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Brandenburg gate in Berlin: Reflection of the Brandenburg Gate in a puddle

Brandenburg Gate: "One, Two, Three"

Filming of the American comedy directed by Billy Wilder lasted from June to September 1961. The main location for the comedy about the East-West conflict was Berlin. But after construction of the Wall began in August, the Brandenburg Gate had to be reconstructed at the Bavaria Film Studios because the filming could no longer be completed in the border zone. Because of its contemporary relevance, the comedy received largely negative reviews and it took until the 1980s for "One, Two, Three" to enjoy success with an audience now ready for a satire on the Cold War.

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Illuminated Friedrichstrasse in Berlin at night

Friedrichstraße / Victoria

“Victoria”, the surprise success of Berlinale 2015, takes plays in one night in Berlin. The breath-taking story was filmed in a single shot without a cut, giving the movie its feverish energy and authentic Berlin look. To make this possible, the …

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Tranin Station Zoologischer Garten in Berlin

Zoo Station : "Christiane F." / "Emil and the Detectives"

Bahnhof Zoo, formerly the main railway station in West Berlin, has already been the setting of very different films such as "Christiane F. - We Children from Bahnhof Zoo" (1981) and "Emil and the Detectives".

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People infront the Astronomical clock at Alexanderplatz in Berlin

Alexanderplatz / "The Bourne Supremacy"

The Bourne Supremacy, the second part of the Bourne series, takes place to a large extent in Berlin. Some sequences set in Moscow were actually also shot in Berlin. The Tiergarten tunnel was used to film the chase scene before it was opened to traffic. Bourne meets agent Nicky Parsons at the World Time Clock on Alexanderplatz and manages to disappear into a crowd of demonstrators.

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tourists taking pictures at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin

Checkpoint Charlie: "Octopussy"

The Checkpoint Charlie border crossing was a backdrop for the Cold War era James Bond film "Octopussy" (1983), where Roger Moore as James Bond makes a halt at the Allied border crossing. Now a replica of the border post evokes what was once surely the most famous border crossing in Berlin.

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Rummelsburger Bucht: "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" ("The Legend of Paul and Paula")

Scenes of the DEFA classic, "The Legend of Paul and Paula", were shot on the Rummelsburger Lake - viewers will find the scene with the boat ride especially memorable. In honour of the film, a stretch of the waterfront has been named "Paul and Paula Shore" and a lovers' bench has been installed.

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Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin

A famous film set, a place for ideas and knowledge and exciting architecture in a double pack. The State Library is not only popular with researchers.

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