Kino Im Sprengel (Hannover)
Address: Klaus-Müller-Kilian-Weg 1 / 30167 Hannover / Germany
Tel: +49-511-703814
Email: info at kino-im-sprengel.de
www.kino-im-sprengel.de
1x Screen, 99 seats.
Tech: 35 mm, 16 mm, 8 mm, Beta-SP, DVD, VHS
History: The Kino im Sprengel was founded in spring 1988 in Hannover´s district Nordstadt by a group of young cinema enthusiasts, most of them students at the nearby University of Hannover. At that time it was a squatters‘ project as it was not unusual in Germany’s subculture. When the place was closed down by the local authorities, the cinema went on the road for 4 years until it found its home in the current place, a former chocolate factory building which also had been squatted by people trying alternative forms of housing. The theater was put up from practically nothing and with barely any financial resources. It opened its gates in the fall of 1992. After a few years in somewhat unchartered legal territory, the towncouncil of Hannover legalized the status, including the cinema, in 1995.
Organisational structure: The cinema is run by an independent group of about 10 people and managed through the “Film und Video Cooperative e.V.”, a registered non-profit association.
Editorial Line: The cinema’s programme is focussing on independent film of every category, age and origin: Avantgarde, documentary, short and feature film from all over the world. Film classics and movies, which have been forgotten or vanished from the public’s mind find a new or often premiere Hannover screening. Often the shows are introduced by a member of the group or even by the filmmakers themselves. A lot of projects are established in cooperation with local, national and international partners.
Regularity: 2-3 screenings per week
Other stuff: Occasional literature readings, other activities in combination with film/documentaries are presentations by guest speakers with discussion, live music, live-music accompaniement of silent movies, special screenings for schools with presentations of background information (historical, filmographical, cinematographical, media-competence)
Publicity: online programme/ print version of the programme/ daily papers (local and regional)/ local monthly magazines/ local radio
Audience: 30 – 35 guests/screening
Funding: Entrance fees mainly, occasional financial participation of a cooperation partner, sometimes public subsidies for specific projects.