On 5 March 2020, the Stuttgart City Council cleared the way for the future Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart with a basic resolution based on the initiative of First Mayor Dr Fabian Mayer.
The decision to build and operate the house was preceded by around ten years of dedicated and predominantly voluntary work by the association Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart e.V. (formerly Neues Kommunales Kino Stuttgart e.V.). This association – unique in Germany – of 25 non-commercial institutions concerned with the moving image and media in Stuttgart and the region worked out a content-related concept that was convincing to the cultural administration as well as the municipal council.
Originally, a successor institution was planned for the Kommunale Kino in Stuttgart, which closed in 2008. Due to the reality of life today, in which dealing with moving images has become a constant part of daily life, the association developed a concept for a house that, starting with the medium of "film", takes into account current developments in the entire media sector. Thus, in addition to "film", the topics of animation & visual effects, games, software, virtual & augmented reality, digital platforms, and artificial intelligence will play an important role in the Haus für Film und Medien.
Cinemas, labs, and workshop rooms for active media work, event and exhibition spaces as well as the self-managed catering form the four pillars of the future Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart.
A variety of event formats are planned in an open house with cinema auditoriums and workshop character, which will place special emphasis on media education. The target groups include all citizens: pre-school children, pupils, trainees, students, interested adult amateurs, young professionals, start-ups and professionals in the film and media sector.
“Cinemas, labs, and workshop rooms for active media work, event and exhibition spaces as well as the self-managed catering form the four pillars of the future Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart," explains Markus Merz, Chairman of the association and Managing Director of Merz Bildungswerk gGmbH. The goal is to anchor the new house in the city as a comprehensive centre for media competence and a central, permanent place for public discourse on film and the moving image.
The new building will be centrally located next to the Leonhardskirche at the current site of the Breuninger parking garage and thus become a nucleus of the Leonhardsvorstadt redevelopment. "The new building will also provide an opportunity to make a mark on the urban landscape. The highly functional building is to comply with the latest ecological criteria, but above all to radiate openness," is the wish of Markus Merz. The building project is planned as part of the IBA quarter Leonhardsviertel/Züblinareal. The target is therefore to complete the building by 2027 at the latest. A Mobility Hub for Breuninger is planned as a second structure on the site. The Stuttgart architects haascookzemmrich STUDIO2050 provided expert support in the location search and the development of a conceptual spatial programme.
For its work, especially in the location search context, the association has already been financially supported by the municipal culture office in recent years. "We are pleased that the good cooperation we have enjoyed for years with the city administration has now been affirmed by the City Council's basic resolution," Markus Merz sums up. "We can now enter the concrete planning phase, as this resolution has secured the necessary sustainable funding for the Haus für Film und Medien Stuttgart."
