The Zoo Palast's varied history is like a box of chocolates. Located in the heart of Berlin, the newly built Zoo Palast quickly became the city's most important movie theater - and the home of the Berlinale. Major film premieres were celebrated here with numerous national and international stars such as James Stewart, Sophia Loren, Jodie Foster and Tom Hanks.
The unique ambience of the cinema with its impressive oval ceiling, which had the effect of a starry sky due to point lights and at the same time illuminated the auditorium, thrilled film stars and cineastes alike. From 1957 to 1999, the Zoo Palast was the central competition cinema of the Berlinale.
After that, things got a little quieter around the Zoo Palast. Shortly before the turn of the year 2011, the renowned cinema had to close its doors for the time being - until Hans Joachim Flebbe, with his penchant for beautiful, traditional movie theaters, took over the listed rooms.
At the end of November 2013, the Zoo Palast, which had been lavishly restored with attention to detail under the direction of Berlin architect Anna Maske, was then reopened with a grand celebration - after more than two years of construction.
The new movie palace continues its great history and offers its visitors a real Grand Cinema - a tribute to the great times of the movie theaters of the 50s and 60s, whose atmosphere and stylish architecture cannot be found in new movie theaters, is combined with the comfort of today's premium cinema.
For many Berliners, the Zoo Palast in the heart of Berlin City West is the most beautiful cinema of all - and certainly the most important movie theater in Germany far beyond the city's borders.
From 1957, the Zoo Palast was also home to the Berlin Film Festival - and would remain so until 1999. Taken over by UCI in 1994, things got a little quieter around the Zoo Palast and in December 2010 the traditional cinema finally closed.
With Hans-Joachim Flebbe, a cinema professional and avowed lover of beautiful traditional houses acquired the Zoo Palast and meticulously planned a new beginning. After a two-year renovation phase, Zoo Palast finally celebrated a glittering reopening in November 2013.
Hans-Joachim Flebbe can look back on more than 35 years of experience in the cinema business. He began in the mid-1970s with art-house and art-house cinemas in Hanover. He then took over numerous renowned film art cinemas in Germany.
In 1990, Hans-Joachim Flebbe founded the CinemaxX cinema chain and opened Germany's first multiplex cinemas in Hanover and Essen in 1991. He developed and operated over 40 CinemaxX multiplexes in Germany with around 340 screens, 90,000 seats and up to 20 million visitors per year.
After 20 years as managing director and board member, Hans-Joachim Flebbe left CinemaxX AG at the end of 2008. He took over the former Filmpalast Berlin on Kurfürstendamm and opened the traditional movie theater as ASTOR Film Lounge. Hans-Joachim Flebbe developed an innovative cinema offer: the premium cinema with the guest in the center - a technically modern, but stylish and comfortable cinema experience for all senses!
The reopening of Zoo Palast marks a new chapter in the cinema life of Hans-Joachim Flebbe. He invested a total of 5.5 million EUR in the stylish reconstruction of the traditional cinema and the "state-of-the-art" image and sound technology.
Today, Zoo Palast has seven auditoriums - four of the original nine cinemas have been preserved (five auditoriums in an annex were demolished). Three auditoriums have been completely rebuilt and designed in the film theater aesthetics of the 1950s. With the exception of Clubkino B, all the auditoriums are handicapped accessible. More than 100 employees take care of the well-being of the moviegoers!
Since 2014, Zoo Palast has once again served as a venue for the Berlin Film Festival and as a premiere cinema.
Cinema technology: Cine Project GmbH | Bauleiter: Herr Spreemann
Seating: Fa. Skeie, Norwegen
Lighting: Fa. Freilicht, Berlin
Ticketing: Compeso, München
Architects: Maske & Suhren, Berlin
Consulting: Paul Heinen, Hamburg
