Post by Christian Bräuer

Forever young! That was the spirit as we celebrated the grand opening of #KinoInternational – after a beautifully completed restoration of this icon of cinema architecture!   What a marvellous, warm evening!  We are deeply grateful to our guests of honour: Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner, Mayor and Senator Franziska Giffey, and Senator Christian Gaebler, for their wonderful and heartfelt contributions! And to filmmaker Maria Schrader for her warm words. It's a great honour that Kino International has been awarded ‘Treasures of European Film Culture’ by the European Film Academy. Thanks to Knut Elstermann for his passionate moderation, to the film contributions by Mattias Luthardt and Christoph Rauhut (Landesdenkmalamt Berlin) and the choir of Berlin filmmakers, who provided such a great backdrop.   My heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who celebrated with us and filled this house with such warmth: State Secretary Björn Böhning, the former Minister of State for CultureMonika Grütters, Markus Franke, Kirsten Niehuus, Peter Dinges, Jolinde Sawahn, Martin Michaelis, Sarah Duve, Manja Schreiner (IHK Berlin), Peter Schauerte (AllScreens Verband Filmverleih und Audiovisuelle Medien e.V.), Julia Maier-Hauff (PROG Producers of Germany e.V. (vormals Produzent*innenverband), Tomomi Themann, Marven Gabriel, Sinta Weisz, and many more.   A huge thanks to Petra Gute and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) Abendschau, who reported live from Kino International - rbb Abendschau is always so committed to Berlin's cultural landscape.   The renovation was not just maintaining a landmark of national significance - it was about reimagining it for future generations. That is why we have installed the best cinema technology from Christie Cinema Solutions (Markus Overath) and made the auditorium even more comfortable. Many thanks to everyone involved in the renovation – on behalf of everyone Daniel Dickmann and Dickmann Richter Architekten PartG mbB, ABK Gebäudetechnik GmbH and Becker Hofstätter Projektsteuerung.   My heartfelt thanks to Georg Kloster and everyone who made it happen on our fantastic team Yorck Kinogruppe (Daniel Sibbers, Katia Duszenko, Leonie Steinhau, Marlene Buthenhoff, Thore Horch, Katja Schubert ...). And to all our guests and the press: thank you for your generosity and the attention you gave this special night. It truly meant the world to us!   Lastly, huge thanks to o everyone who made the renovation possible: Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien for their support and for recognising the unique, identity-forming significance of cultural buildings, LOTTO Berlin (Play the lottery – it enables many good things in your community!), Senatskanzlei Berlin, Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung, Bauen und Wohnen, Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Clemens Beck Becksche-Stiftung, Filmförderungsanstalt FFA and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. See you at the movies!   📸 Chris Gonz Henning Koestler