ALL VIDEOS FOR THE PERMANENT EXHIBITION

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This oldest film museum in Germany is located in the Potsdamer Stadtschloss. In the heart of Brandenburg's capital, you can go behind the scenes of film and cinema. In a magnificent baroque building, stars of the silver screen shine. With the permanent exhibition "Dream factory - 100 years of film in Babelsberg", the museum shows the long history of the Babelsberg film studios, the oldest film factory in the world. Over 700 props take you through the history of Babelsberg's film world: from elaborate costumes to furniture pieces. Discover the original bench from "The Punch Bowl" and a vehicle from "Around the World in 80 Days."

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Loft studios in Berlin with a high fire risk and a beautiful woman whose films caused a lot of excitement: These were the reasons why a film pioneer started looking for new company facilities in 1911. One century and more than 3,000 films later, the successors of the Bioscop film company celebrate the 100th anniversary of the world’s oldest film studio. Filmmuseum Potsdam honors this anniversary with a new permanent exhibition.

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Of course, the exhibition features invaluable exhibits from the studio’s history. And yet, the question remains how to tell the story of film in Babelsberg. Despite rapid technological progress, the making of films still follows traditional, internationally valid patterns that even children are able to understand - and this is why the process of filmmaking is at the core of the exhibition.

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The starting point of every film production is an idea, which is then developed into a screenplay. Finding a producer for the project sets the stage for a long process that includes casting, costumes and make-up, set construction, shooting, editing, and sound design. When the audience roars with applause at the premiere and the film wins an award or becomes a box-office success, its makers are happy. The exhibition encompasses seven theme rooms where visitors can discover the films of Ufa, DEFA, and Studio Babelsberg.

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Interactive modules allow them to find out in a playful, intuitive way what it’s like to sing along with Zara Leander or to replace actors such as Renate Krößner or Detlev Buck in a casting session. Besides, the exhibition provides young people looking for professional perspectives with hands-on information on jobs in the media business.

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Throughout five political periods, Studio Babelsberg has been a factory realizing the dreams of the creative and the powerful - from the German Empire to the age of globalization, during the Nazi era and in GDR times. A computer-based information system and an exhibition guide shed light on the background of film production in Babelsberg, putting films and those who worked on them into their historical context.

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