This four-minute whirligig of a film advertised the 1925 Cinema and Photography trade show in Berlin (Kino und Photoausstellung, or Kipho). It showcases an array of avant-garde techniques, including montage, split screens, and the incorporation of clips from earlier films, all of which conveyed the dynamism of Germany’s film industry.  In brief and often superimposed frames, producer Julius Pinschewer and cinematographer Guido Seeber presented every facet of contemporary movie production—from screenwriting and set construction to lighting and editing—and they depicted women working behind the camera as well as men. The two filmmakers also nodded to earlier motion-picture technologies, such as the magic drum [Wundertrommel] and the electric tachyscope [Schnellseher], and they interspersed well-known scenes from earlier landmarks of postwar German cinema, including Fritz Lang’s Die Nibelungen (1924), F.W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh [Der Letzte Mann, 1924], Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, 1920], and an expressionist dance sequence from the 1925 documentary Paths to Strength and Beauty [Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit]. Indeed, the film’s tagline itself, “You must visit Kipho!” [“Du musst zur Kipho gehen”], evoked Caligari’s earlier advertising hook, “You must become Caligari!” [“Du musst Caligari werden!”]

The Kipho exhibition, which ran from September 25 to October 4, drew 100,000 visitors, who could survey production equipment, see a working film set, and watch directors and performers in action. The massive event sought to generate public support for a German industry that faced increasingly stiff competition from Hollywood imports. Seen in such a patriotic light, Pinschewer’s engagement to produce this short film advertising Germany’s cinematic prowess made perfect sense, given that he had founded the Vaterländischer Filmvertrieb [Patriotic Film Distribution Company] during the First World War to generate support for Germany’s war effort. Seeber had similarly deep roots in German film, particularly experimental ones, and he ultimately worked on over 70 feature films between the years 1918 and 1933 alone. Despite these two men’s efforts, however, German cinema continued to struggle throughout the 1920s. Just months after the conclusion of the Kipho exhibition, two Hollywood studios signed an agreement with Germany’s largest film production company, UFA, that gave them even more access to Germany’s domestic film market.