Germany: New MuMa-Forum Provides Exciting Insights into the History of Silent and Sound Film

The new MuMa Forum in Bielefeld (East Westphalia, Germany) – “Mu“ stands for silent film director Wilhelm Murnau (1888-1931) and “Ma“ for sound film inventor and engineer Joseph Massolle (1889-1957) – highlights the interrelationship between filmmaking and elaborate film technology. The permanent exhibition is dealing with the lives of the two eponymous film pioneers, both of whom were born in Bielefeld, and their influence on the film industry of the early 20th century. The programme will also include changing special exhibitions such as “Die Grosse Illusion - Bielefelder Kinogeschichte(n) aus 125 Jahren“ (Eng.: The Great Illusion – Stories from 125 years of cinema history in Bielefeld). In addition, the MuMa-Forum offers a forum area for seminars, lectures and discussions, a small cinema hall where both analogue and digital projectors are used for film screenings from different eras, and a display archive where technical objects and historical documents from film productions and light theatres are exhibited. (eap)