Arsenal Filminstitut e.V.

Filmmaker and researcher Rachel Micallef Somerville and documentary filmmaker and cinema technician Giulio Rasi made the installation ON/OFF.

ON/OFF is a three-screen installation tracing the Arsenal cinema across its homes in Schöneberg, Potsdamer Platz and Wedding. On the outer screens, we revisit the cinema’s past through fiction films taking place within those walls. The center belongs to the present. Here, a single screen turns on and off within its own reflection.

Films shown: Noch nicht und nicht mehr (Ingo Kratisch & Jutta Sartory, 1991/2000), Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete (Lana Gogoberidze, 2023), Made in Germany and USA (Rudolph Thome, 1974), Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Julian Radlmaier, 2017), Unter dem Pflaster ist der Strand (Helma Sanders-Brahms, 1975), Spell Reel (Filipa César, 2017), Denkmalpflege (Riki Kalbe, 1993), and And-Ek Ghes (Philip Scheffner & Colorado Velcu, 2016).

Rachel Micallef Somerville (b.2000, Malta) is a filmmaker and researcher based in Berlin. Alongside her artistic work, she initiates screenings, discussions and workshops within artist-led and community contexts. She is a member of LaborBerlin.
Giulio Rasi(b.1989 in Verona, Italy) is a documentary filmmaker and cinema technician. He lives and works in Berlin.

The installation is free of charge and can be viewed in front of the cinema auditorium.

📸 by Juan Camilo Roa