ARTE Summer Cinema at Kulturforum - 2026 Season

The Summer Cinema at the Kulturforum

The Kulturforum am Potsdamer Platz is one of Berlin's most important museum and concert islands: the Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Philharmonie, Kammermusiksaal, and the Staatsbibliothek are all located in close proximity. Between them lies a large, otherwise rather austere outdoor area - the Matthäikirchplatz / Johanna-und-Eduard-Arnholm-Platz. Since 2007, the Yorck Kinogruppe has transformed this space into one of Berlin's largest open-air cinemas every summer: with a large screen, professional sound system, and up to 1,000 seats. The event is held under the name ARTE Summer Cinema as a cooperation with the German-French cultural channel ARTE and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

2026 Season - June 17th to End of August

The 2026 season starts on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026, and runs until the end of August - around 70 screening evenings continuously. Films start daily after dusk (around 9:30 PM in June, around 8:30 PM in August). The program changes daily and is consistently curated: films in their original language with German subtitles (OmU), along with sneak previews of upcoming cinema releases, restored classics (around Princess Mononoke and Mulholland Drive in 2026), film series, and documentaries. ARTE regularly contributes its own productions and licensed films from the German-French repertoire.

Program Profile and Atmosphere

The ARTE Summer Cinema appeals to a film-loving audience that consciously opts for the OmU version - many films are shown in their original English, French, Japanese, Korean, or Spanish with subtitles. The mix of silent film classics (with live musical accompaniment), new arthouse premieres, open-air sneaks, and festival favorites makes the 2026 season diverse. The atmosphere: warm summer evenings with the Philharmonie as a backdrop, drinks at the outdoor bar, occasional concerts in the Philharmonie as an acoustic prelude.

Yorck and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

The organizer is the Yorck Kinogruppe, Berlin's largest independent chain of art-house cinemas (Babylon Mitte, Yorck, Delphi, Filmtheater am Friedrichshain, Cinema Paris, among others). The cooperation with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin has been in place since the start of the 2007 season - it allows the use of the outdoor space between the Gemäldegalerie and the Neue Nationalgalerie. Summer cinema tickets are sold online and at the box office, typically between €9 and €12 per screening in recent years. In case of rain, the program is moved to the nearby Yorck cinema or canceled - the decision is made in the afternoon and published on the website and in the Yorck app.