An outstanding team of architects, cinema planners and acoustic engineers have been working in what used to be the “grieving room” of the former crematorium in the Wedding district of Berlin. With the new Arsenal cinema, a screening venue is being created at silent green that employs state-of-the-art technology to allow all analogue and digital film formats to be presented.
Planning and implementing a project of this kind in a listed building carries many challenges with it, which is why the opening, originally planned for January 2026, will be delayed by three months.
As a result, the Arsenal cinema will not yet be available as a screening venue for the Berlinale Forum and Forum Expanded in February 2026. The Betonhalle at silent green will once again be used for exhibitions and film screenings during the festival. Silent green and Arsenal will be visible as a key components of the Berlinale and allow audiences to get a glimpse of how the new cinema location is being constructed.
Since the start of the move away from Potsdamer Platz in January 2025, Arsenal has been without its own cinema. Its programming work has continued unabated, however: in close collaboration with partner institutions in Berlin, Germany and abroad, numerous film programs and events have been organized as part of the Arsenal on Location project. Arsenal on Location ends on December 16th, 2025 with a closing event. Until the re-opening in April 2026, Arsenal will be present with film-related event formats at silent green, which will be announced in due time.
On the Arsenal on Location website, it is possible to follow the development of the Arsenal cinema conversion project in the Westhalle in the section A Cinema is Being Built. More information on the move and new location can be found on our website.
Arsenal – Institute for Film und Videokunst e.V. is funded by the Minister of State for Culture and Media. The Federal Cultural Ministry has also provided special funding for the cinema conversion.
Arsenal on Location is funded by the Capital Cultural Fund, the international programs are a collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.
