The three following databases are available:

A representative sample of 1,200 film programmes as published in newspaper advertisements in nine German towns between 1905 and 1914.

A massive database of more than 45,000 films that were available in Germany between 1895 and 1920, originally compiled by Herbert Birett.

A complete data collection on film exhibition by itinerant showmen as reported in the trade journal Der Komet between 1896 and 1926.

The Siegen Cinema Databases are a product of the film historical project Industrialization of Perception at the University of Siegen. In order to have a good empirical basis for our work on early film in Germany and the parallel changes on social and psychological levels, we compiled three databases with a wealth of information on early cinema.

Now, all researchers in the field can use our data with the online versions of these databases.

The databases are currently in a trial stage. It is possible that you experience technical faults or get incomplete results. We hope to finish work on both content and interface by the end of 2006.