Until January 17, 2024, room G023B at the Institute for Information Systems (iisys) will be transformed into a movie theater every Wednesday (with the exception of “All Saints’ Day”) at 7:30 pm. The University Cinema in Hof recently had a successful start to the new season with the film “Baby Driver”. We talked to Peter Hartmann from the cinema team about the outlook and highlights.
Mr. Hartmann, let’s first take a brief look back at the first season of the university cinema: How many visitors were there and what insights did the Uni-Kino team gain?
“Due to the fact that last semester was a summer semester, there were, as expected, a few less visitors on site. However, we could still count on about 20-30 people at each event. In the winter semester, attendance is usually higher because there is little competition from outdoor events.”
So what was particularly trending, what were the crowd-pleasers?
“Especially with action movies like “The Batman” last semester and now already this semester with “Baby Driver” always show high attendance. But of course we don’t just want to show action movies, we want to offer something for everyone in our cinema.”
What many are wondering: how does a university cinema actually work legally? What makes it possible to show the films and what are the tasks of your team?
“We at Unikino are in partnership with “Unifilm.de”. This is a Germany-wide network that takes care of the licenses and then sends the films to the universities that are members of it – depending on the medium that the universities want. Our tasks during the semester itself include running the events, i.e. setting up the technology and, for example, buying the snacks and drinks that we sell. Between semesters, we always take care of planning the next film schedule. We get sent a list of available films from Unifilm that we’re allowed to show.”
What do you generally look for when selecting films? Are students allowed to make requests?
“We mainly make sure that we have a relatively diverse selection of film genres so that there is at least one film for everyone. Every now and then this can clash with the available licenses, but then Unifilm tries its best to help us with that. Students can also submit film requests to us at any time. Since last semester, we now send out a survey after all movie screenings, where all students can rate how they found the film selection. Of course, you can also submit film requests in the process.”
Are you a real cinema fan yourself, i.e. do you also visit, for example, the Hof Film Festival, which takes place at the end of October?
“Unfortunately, I have never been to the Hofer Filmtage, but I am still a real cinema fan. I like to watch all kinds of films and also keep myself up-to-date on new film releases.”
Which film in the starting program are you most looking forward to?
“I’m looking forward to “Train to Busan” as I’ve never taken the chance to see the film before. I’m especially looking forward to “Barbie” – especially because I’m happy that Unifilm got the license so we can show it early.”
What’s the deal with the cinema app: what info do you get and where can you download it?
“The cinema app is a commitment from Unifilm’s side that every visitor to us has to download – preferably in advance. In the app, each visitor must scan a QR code from us, through which the so-called “club card” is unlocked. The club card costs 1€, which is why the first entrance to us always costs 3€. Through the club card you can collect stamps (per entry you get one stamp) and with 4 stamps you get the 5th entry for free. The app can be found in the App Store and in the Google Play Store under “unifilm.de”. However, on our Instagram account you can also find a post under which the app is linked.”
Thank you!
Notes:
Film tickets can be purchased either via the app or directly in front of the Audimax starting at 19:10. The entrance fee is still 2 EUR per ticket. Once a semester, for licensing reasons, a semester club card must also be purchased for 1 EUR, purely digitally in the unifilm.de app. The app also has an electronic stamp card, where the 5th visit is still free. For drinking, sodas, coke, mate, water and beer are offered. The snack offer usually includes various chips, bon-bons, chocolate and much more.
