DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The Deutsches Filmmuseum opened in 1984 in a listed Gründerzeit villa on Schaumainkai that architect Helge Bofinger had converted for museum use. Its founding director was Walter Schobert. The museum was part of Frankfurt's Museumsufer program of the 1980s and brought the Kommunales Kino (municipal cinema), which had existed since 1971, under its roof.

The institute's roots go back further: the Deutsches Institut für Filmkunde, which collected films, written materials and posters, was founded in 1949. In 2006 the institute and museum merged to form the Deutsches Filminstitut, a registered association; in 2018 the organization was renamed DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum.

Between 2009 and 2011 the museum building was thoroughly modernized, reopening in August 2011 with a newly designed permanent exhibition. Spread over two floors, it leads from optical devices of the 18th and 19th centuries to the tools of cinematic storytelling: image, sound, editing and acting. Since 2026 the permanent exhibition has been renewed step by step.

Alongside the museum and cinema, the DFF maintains extensive film, image, poster and estate archives, including the Werner Nekes Collection on the history of perception, and runs festivals, film education projects and online platforms such as filmportal.de.

Highlights

• Original Lumière Cinématographe with a working replica
• Camera from Wolfgang Petersen's “Das Boot”
• The tin drum from Volker Schlöndorff's film adaptation (“The Tin Drum”)
• Film room with a film collage on several large screens
• Camera obscura with a view over the Main and the skyline
• 131-seat cinema for analog and digital formats

Permanent exhibitions

• Dauerausstellung: Filmisches Sehen und Filmisches Erzählen – Two floors of optical devices, magic lanterns and early cinema, plus stations on image, sound, editing and acting – many of them hands-on.

Founded

1984

Operated by

DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e. V.

Director

Christine Kopf (künstlerische Direktorin), Tobias Römer (Verwaltungsdirektor)

Admission & discounts

Free admission to the permanent exhibition for children under 6, birthday visitors of any age, refugees, and holders of the KUFTI or the Ehrenamts-Card (volunteer card); free admission to the permanent and special exhibitions with an ICOM/Museumsbund card, a press card or the student Kulturticket. Frankfurt-Pass: permanent exhibition €4 (children €2), Kulturpass €1 (children €0.50), Frankfurt Card €4. No free admission on Satourday (only for participants in the family program). Exhibition tickets only at the ticket desk; cinema tickets online via Cinetixx.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: not available
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Step-free access via the right-hand side entrance with elevator; all exhibition floors, the cinema and the fifth floor are reachable by elevator. Loaner wheelchair and portable stools. Wheelchair-accessible restrooms on the lower ground floor and the fifth floor. Induction loop in the cinema, two wheelchair spaces (reserve by phone). Main texts of the permanent exhibition available via QR code in Easy Language, Arabic and Turkish. Tours for people with mobility, hearing or visual impairments and cognitive disabilities by advance booking (with tactile objects); no tours for deaf or blind people. Assessed by “Reisen für Alle” (Travel for All) in February 2026.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children's cinema on Fridays and Sundays, Open Film Studio on weekends on the fifth floor, workshops, holiday courses and children's birthday parties (“Filmreifer Geburtstag”); multimedia guide made by and for young people with videos and games. Strollers via the elevator at the right-hand side entrance; baby changing table on the lower ground floor.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop

Museum café “Studio DFF” (Tue–Fri 12:00–20:30, Sat/Sun 11:00–20:30). Museum shop with online shop.

Events & venue rental

No rental page found on the official website; event portals list the foyer, lounges, exhibition area and cinema (131 seats) as rentable spaces.

Plan your visit