Director: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Germany 1924, 90 minutes, 35mm (20bps), silent, piano: Richard Siedhoff, percussion: Frank Bockius

Saturday, May 31, 2025, 9:15 pm

Meadow in front of the HfG, Platz der Menschenrechte

Free admission, donation requested

There he stands, the imposing doorman of the Hotel Atlantic, the first hotel on the square. His magnificent uniform with its golden buttons is his pride and joy. But when the hotel management retires the porter for reasons of age and transfers him to the toilet service, he loses his uniform and his dignity. Murnau's film, which manages almost entirely without intertitles, is considered a milestone in film history and the high point of German silent film cinema.

The team at Kino im Blauen Salon is particularly looking forward to seeing Richard Siedhoff (Weimar) again at the piano. He has more than convinced us with his musical and human qualities (he made do with a luma on the floor of his shared flat and was once a punk musician before switching to silent film)! And now he's also bringing his Freiburg colleague Frank Bockius with him to Karlsruhe, who who will be joining in the action on drums - so we can look forward to a real silent film concert! A film from the collection of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung (www.murnaustiftung.de) in Wiesbaden.

Im Vorprogramm: Manhatta
Regie: Charles Sheeler, Paul Strand, USA 1921, 11 Minuten, 16mm, stumm

The Kino im Blauen Salon, the student cinema of the Hochschule für Gestaltung, has been run by students since 2017 and has been a registered association since the beginning of 2024: https://kinoimblauensalon.de/de/news.

More about the film series in summer semester 2025:

Kino im Blauen Salon, the student cinema of the Hochschule für Gestaltung, invites you to the new program for the summer semester! Our film program, which was awarded 1st prize by the Deutsche Kinemathek, is now in its 18th semester! Time to take a brief look back... In our early days, cineastes were few and far between in the Blauer Salon, whereas today the room seems almost too small. But we have always remained true to our ideals: Analog film screenings in 35mm & 16mm, joint voluntary work with free admission and a relaxed HfG atmosphere. And the summer open-air cinema on the lawn in front of the HfG is already in its 6th round, this time at the end of May! So it's time not to look back, but to look forward: To another summer semester full of cinematic-poetic cinema highlights:
Our main interest this summer is poetry, because the nights are getting longer, the horizon endless and there's something in the air. But what does cinema have to do with poetry? Find out in our “Cinema Poetico” series, in which we set off on multiple narrative strands, meandering perspectives, visual detours and everything that lies between the lines. The series presents a hand-picked selection of classics and hidden gems that form the silent branches of cinema.
There are also nightly excursions with our “Midnight Movies”, the legendary Kult Sneak, experimental short film programs, workshops, specials, guests and, of course, the highlight of the cinema year, the open-air cinema in front of the HfG, under the motto “Freedom in Change”. See you soon at the movies!