Why not Chemnitz?

Maret Wolff

Berlin native Maret Wolff knows her way around the film business: she studied film and theatre studies, worked for festivals and helped cinemas go digital. She could hardly turn down the offer to take over the traditional Chemnitz "Metropol" cinema and took the risk last December. That's why she is our "Maker of the Week".

How do you come up with the idea of venturing into cinema in the age of Netflix and the like?
Maret Wolff: (Laughs) That does indeed sound crazy at first. Simply out of the belief that cinema is a medium that has not yet had its day. Just as little as books, digitalisation or not. I hope and believe that cinema is still something that will endure. The communal experience, for example. Sure, you can now watch most films at home. I like to Netflix myself ... But that old dream of going to the cinema was stronger.

You're from Berlin and moved to Chemnitz for the cinema. You've been quoted as saying that you know the city "a little bit"... Wasn't that a bit of a risk?
The cinema is in Chemnitz - and that's why it was "Chemnitz or not at all". (laughs) I found out through industry contacts and cinema associations that the long-standing operator Evelin Paulat was looking for a successor. I was currently on parental leave and was planning to reorient myself anyway. Parental leave is always a point where you have a very clear vision: Either you make a real change now or probably not at all. So now was simply the right time, whether by chance or fate...
And yes, I knew Chemnitz "a bit" beforehand: some of my study contacts came from here, my husband is from here, so I've been to Chemnitz a few times, there are family connections. That's perhaps why we thought about it more quickly than if we hadn't had any connection to Chemnitz at all.

How did your Berlin neighbours react?
"Er... Chemnitz?!" (laughs) But seriously - the reactions were generally very positive, ranging from "brave" to "cool". But I needed that too. I was already struggling with this decision. The reaction from someone who doesn't know the location is unanimous: "... and why Chemnitz?" But I can't change the geographical location of the cinema. But I grew up partly in Saxony, a Berlin Saxon so to speak, and I think that I can cope quite well with this semi-Saxon socialisation here. And many prejudices have already been dispelled. Because acquaintances really like coming to visit and find it all surprisingly beautiful here.

How do you see your cinema? As an arthouse cinema or somewhere in between?
My predecessor, Evelin Paulat, has created a stringent and good programme in recent years and has responded to her guests and her audience. I actually come from the arthouse cinema corner. That's why I at least have the idea of developing the "Metropol" more in this direction. I think the programme has shown that from day one. But I also realise that it will be a balancing act. Only arthouse cinema is almost impossible with this beautiful, but with its more than 350 seats huge auditorium, if you want to achieve an acceptable occupancy rate. But I will always incorporate the colour arthouse cinema into the programme. We are currently also trying out films in the original with subtitles. We'll see whether people accept it, whether word gets around or not.
For films that wouldn't work in the main auditorium or that are only available on Blu-ray, we have the cosy Metro Club, where we show selected programmes such as silent films or short film evenings like "Shocking Shorts" to a smaller audience. It's also a great place to get into conversation. We will definitely be expanding this.

In January, you organised a themed week to accompany the exhibition on the Russian avant-garde in the art collections. Will there be more of these events?
Yes, absolutely! The cooperation with the art collections is important to us; we have just shown "Doctor Zhivago" and the Russian silent films from Eisenstein to Pudovkin once again. A continuation of the collaboration is already in the pipeline: We are currently planning something around the film release of "Neo Rauch". The city's anniversary next year also offers some themes that I can imagine in the cinema. And we could team up with the Gunzenhauser Museum and create synergies. That's also the exciting thing about the job of programming, that you bring cinema into a larger context and stage it accordingly. The "Metropol" has been part of Chemnitz's cultural landscape for over 100 years now, has been a cinema for 81 years and is therefore the oldest still existing film theatre in the city. We need to make the residents even more aware of what a gem they have here in the centre of the city.

Another cinema maker in the city once said that the people of Chemnitz tend to be bad cinema-goers. What is your impression?
You're almost asking me that a little too soon, we've only been open for two months. I always ask myself why "the Chemnitzer" (the unknown entity) comes to the cinema or stays away. But there are so many influencing factors. You certainly can't say across the board that people from Chemnitz are generally bad cinema-goers. What is striking, however, is that unfortunately there is hardly any film coverage worth mentioning in the press. A very small selection of film releases are discussed there, i.e. only three to four films out of 10 to 15 releases per week. The complete programme of the cinemas is not shown editorially anywhere. In addition, much of Chemnitz's once really rich cinema landscape has been destroyed, just think of "Europa 70", "Luxor-Palast" or "Filmschau Hilbersdorf". So the question is: is the market reacting to the people or are the people reacting to the limited market? I don't think they are bad cinema-goers. I experience the people of Chemnitz as interested, communicative visitors who also say whether they liked the film or which films they would like to see in the programme.

How do the films get into the programme?
We have a monthly programme, which means I'm currently thinking about what we're going to show in March. Of course, there is always the option of including films in the programme that we would like to see - we had a lot of requests for "Star Wars - Rouge One", for example.
National releases, on the other hand, are more difficult: we are usually unable to fulfil the conditions attached to them (e.g. the film must be shown continuously or several times a day) with just one auditorium. As a result, Hollywood blockbusters can initially only be seen in multiplexes. As far as the arthouse cinemas in the city are concerned, it would certainly make sense to coordinate the programme and not programme films in parallel. I'll be making contact with them soon.

Cinema is mainly in the evening or late at night. How do you manage that as a mother of two small children (aged 1 and 8)?
Without the non-stop, and I mean that literally, commitment of my husband, it wouldn't work. Grandma also helps, as do our visitors from Dresden and Berlin. Of course, the children notice this anyway and hopefully won't get tired of the cinema. But now there is slowly light at the end of the tunnel. I've found great people to support us. And so I've been able to say "good night" to my children several times now.

If there was a film about Chemnitz: What genre would it be?
"The Fast and the Furios" (she answers as if shot from a gun and laughs heartily). Or "Mon Oncle", or even better "Trafic" - French classics by Jacques Tati. I may come from Berlin, but to be honest I've never experienced a city as car-centred as Chemnitz. So it would definitely be a car-critical comedy.

Final question: Where do you see yourself and your cinema in 2025?
As an integral part of the Capital of Culture year. That would make me personally very happy. Especially as the cinema project has been defined for me for the next ten years. We can therefore work together with the city towards the Capital of Culture. I hope that in ten years' time, cinema will still be possible and cinemas will still be visited. We will change with the cinema and hopefully also with the city. The Capital of Culture bid will certainly be a great thing, even if the bid itself is not successful, which can always happen. The fact that this process can still bear lasting fruit is demonstrated by cities that have applied for the Olympic Games or to be the Capital of Culture only seemingly without success. This nevertheless has an effect and influence on the character and self-image of the cities and does something positive with them. You can definitely emerge from it stronger and, above all, changed.
I see a lot of potential, precisely because Chemnitz has the open spaces, both architecturally and in the urban space itself, that have long since been converted into lofts or sold off elsewhere. You can discuss many topics here that will affect us all in the future: What drives us as almost fully digitalised people, how do we want to work, what feeds us, how should our children grow up ... There's a lot to think about and try out here! If the process leads to answers over the ten years, then I'm happy to be part of it. And the cinema too!