MASTERCLASS KINOTHEK ASTA NIELSEN

FOUNDING A FILM ARCHIVE, FOUNDING A NEW CANON

Founded in Frankfurt in 1999, Kinothek Asta Nielsen was launched with the idea of disseminating, documenting and researching films made by women and queer film culture. Its co-founders, Karola Gramann and Heide Schlüpmann, will be speaking in this masterclass about their experience in developing a new canon of film history through the work by the institution. Building on the discourses of the new feminist movement in the 1970s, the Kinothek Asta Nielsen team has been working to give visibility and access to films that were inaccessible before, and to generate debate and critical thinking about them. This is a task that has brought to light significant legacies in cinema, such as the one left by Asta Nielsen herself, star of Danish silent cinema and also an essential actress and producer.

The archive contains non-commercial films in 16 mm and Super 8 formats, along with printed material such as catalogues and other relevant publications, including brochures, programme flyers and unpublished texts on feminist cinema. They organise film series and screenings, events on film history and theory, and various collaborative projects, while also working to restore and digitise films, as well as distributing copies. It is a many-sided endeavour that has crucially helped to develop a new, broader, and more inclusive canon of film history.