9.5mm – the film format that was introduced by Pathé towards the end of 1922 – also became popular in Switzerland, due to the nation’s proximity to France. At the Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Berne we specialize in amateur film and its technology. The upcoming centenary therefore seemed like the perfect opportunity to initiate a celebration of the gauge and its impact on amateur film culture. We will re-investigate our collection for unseen treasures, seek out new films and sources of nine-five knowledge and share these with our audience near and far.
Starting in the summer of 2022 we will hold a series of screenings, host a symposium, present our new restorations, and showcase some of our weirdest technological devices in an exhibition.
Beginning now though, and because it needs research to do all those things, we decided to create a sort of scrap book of 9.5 curiosities that we discover as we prepare for the festivities. There will be space too for reflections on our personal encounters with the gauge. We would love our audience to also contribute to the scrapbook, thereby enlarging the scope of our research, perhaps in surprising ways. So, on this page we will present our newest findings, ask our most pressing questions but most of all, we would also like to invite you to participate in the project. We feel there is much to be discovered about what happened to 9.5 when it left the factory and sparked endless real world encounters.
Send a picture and a short text and share your most beloved piece of 9.5mm lore, treasured collectible or related experience with us and the world.
National Library of Scotland / Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, Isobel Hutchison, Copenhagen Dock / Angmagsalik, Greenland, 1927 https://movingimage.nls.uk/film/5359 Louis Pelletier Collection, filmmaker unknown, Château de
Pathé Baby Collection, Princeton University Library – Rare Books and Special Collections, André Calmettes & Charles Le Bargy, Le Retour d’Ulysse, No. 1, 1909 https://library.princeton.edu/pathebaby/node/2688 Pathé Baby
‘Become a film director with the PATHE-BABY camera, capture unforgettable memories in motion, like the ones you’re about to see on this screen.’ Grahame Newnham
1 to 8 October 2022 The Lichtspiel / Kinemathek curated a program of 22 9.5mm films coming from three different collections: Fondation Jêrome Seydoux Pathé,
I have been taking pictures of the different models of splicers for 9.5mm for a while now, and every time I think I have found
In less than a month the Fondation Jeròme Seydoux Pathé, the Cinémathèque Suisse and the Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Berne will be showing a selection of
September Archive Streaming Programme: The Banality of Evil, selected by Anna Briggs All the films featured in this month’s selection are from the United States
August is when you start seeing things. The stars fall in August. You wake to days with the feeling you’ve already lived through them. People
The Kinemathek Lichtspiel received the collection Kohler-Carrard in the year 2021. At the same time, Isabelle Hasler, student at Bern Academy of the Arts, started
July Archive Streaming Programme: La mer, selected by Anna Briggs La mer / Qu’on voit danser / Le long des golfes clairs / A des
When it comes to 9.5mm’s discovery and restoration, I always recall the Ninja character “Saizo Kirigakure”. The original film (only three minutes) was obtained by
Saturday June 11th we opened the exhibition on the birthday 9.5mm. Our museologist Peter Fasnacht gave a tour, one of our technicians, Vladimir Malogajski explained
Programme de streaming pour le mois de juin: Carte blanche à Normandie Images, sélectionné par Agnès Deleforge (chargée des collections) Agnès nous présente la collection
On my visit to Switzerland in a room with a view out over a paddock – occasionally Alpacas were spotted too – I found a
In May our bodies – for better or for worse – weave collective geometry as we march, parade, dance, line up, strut and stroll together.
April Archive Streaming Programme: Technology of Memory – Memory of Technology, selected by Tim van der Heijden “Le Cinéma Chez Soi” Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia holds two 9.5mm film collections and three Pathé projectors, and
March Archive Streaming Programme: New Life, selected by Anna Briggs ‘When daisies pied and violets blue / And lady-smocks all silver-white / And cuckoo-buds
In some parts of Switzerland February and March are very popular months. Basel and Lucerne for example feature big carnival processions. Whether some procession will
I would like to tell you about a collection of 9.5mm films that were handed over to the Austrian Film Museum in the 1970s. It’s
February Archive Streaming Programme: Love and Marriage, selected by Anna Briggs Cupid is paying us a visit this month, bringing his bow and arrow, handfuls
Happy Birthday! January Archive Streaming Programme: Happy Feet, selected by Anna Briggs Let’s waltz into this new year of centenary celebrations with some films that
Paul Goy, the last president of the Bernese 9.5mm club, told me one day that there was a Super 9.5mm format back in the 1990ties.
There was an active 9.5mm Film Club in Bern until the mid-2000s. Through various donations, parts of the film collection of the “9.5mm Filmklub Bern”
On the phone my daughter Ronja. Out there, where we usually deposit the trash, there are two wooden boxes. A big one and a smaller,
Hi my Lichtspiel friends, From my collection in the UK I would like to offer you this slitter for making two strips of 9.5mm film
Not less then 60 films from one Mr. A. Loertscher are part of the collection of 9.5mm films in the Lichtspiel. His films are from
Because this is also personal, I will start with my winter swimming excursions – in particular one from last November. The Lichtspiel did a so
My own first encounter with 9.5mm was at the AMIA conference in Los Angeles in the year 2000: the late William O’Farrell improvised a song
