HISTORY
Discover treasures and get films back on the screen
It may be a coincidence that Fritz Ryff built his knitwear factory at Marzili/Berne in 1890 – a year very close to the birth of cinema (1895). As luck would have it, the Lichtspiel took up its activities in the building of the former Ryff factory in 2012 after a spectacular removal. While the Ryff family had brought home souvenirs from their long distance trips to places like Amazonia or Africa, Lichtspiel brings back marvels from the history of cinema, objects both heavy and delicate discovered in caves and attics and forgotten films brought back to the screen.
The smell of cocoa beans
The Lichtspiel was founded in 2000 in an old Chocolat Tobler factory situated in the West of Bern, between the railway tracks, the cemetery and the waste incineration plant. The origin of the cinemathèque was a private collection – a collection has grown and expanded permanently since then. From the very beginning, visitors were impressed by the abundance of material exhibited in this exceptional ambiance, a vivid, unique, playful presentation of the collection in the huge halls of the old factory. The relocation to the Marzli quarter was a chance to develop the infrastructure, to install an exhibition storage inspired by the history of the new location. The Association also got in touch with other tenants, mainly film producers, of the Ryff factory and the House of Film Bern was founded, a loose connection with no obligations. From the first moment, the passion of collecting and exhibiting was lived to the brim and reflected in the new halls where visitors can discover a world of cinematographic machines, be surprised by curiosities and gain insight in the everyday life of a cinematheque.
The Cinema
The centrepiece of this huge collection is the cinema situated in the middle of the projectors stored in rows, the viewing tables, the spare part material and our workshop. Our visitors are invited on a journey within the screen while the projector is humming in the background. We curate surprise film programs from our own film archive and retrospectives with films from other archives or distributors. Our guests also have the possibility to complete our program with films of their own choice.
