What if you only had 48 hours to make a film with strangers? Around the world, amateur and professional filmmakers are doing just that. Heres everything you need to know about the Kino movement.
The motto of Kino is ever present when talking to Kino tes. They've been infected! laughs Lukas Scheper. He's just returned from Shanghai's first Kino Kabaret, and back in Hamburg, he's still on fire with Kino's power. You can find your way with Kino.
Do well with nothing. Do better with little. But do it now!
Kino is a film movement designed to foster creativity amongst film lovers. Kino tes," as they affectionately call themselves, develop, write and shoot short films within 48 hours. It requires problem solving, innovation, and resilience. Kino tes swear by it. Do well with nothing. Do better with little. But do it now! they say, echoing their founder's words.
Do Well with Nothing
Montreal, January 1999. Christian Laurence, J richo Jeudy and about 20 others decided to make a pact: they would make one short film a month until January 2000. Their budgets were virtually non-existent, but with careful deadlines and creativity, they managed to keep that promise. J richo Jeudy says the exercise taught them there are other means by which we can make films. You don't have to be a millionaire.
It couldn't have come at a better time. Digital cameras were just becoming available, allowing filmmakers to edit on their computers. The cost of making movies had decreased, and without the threat of expensive film, many were becoming more experimental. In another 10 years, with advances in technology and method, the price may drop even further.
The movement finds its roots in cin ma direct, a means of making films modestly, with fewer resources. It resulted in films based more on feeling and intuition than theory. Jeudy calls them the most audacious films.
Kino lets people make the films they want tell the story they want, the way they want, says Samuel Hilton of Kino Sydney. Cinema should be a democratic process. Filmonik Manchester's Jonathan Pratt says that not being tied to big budgets allows for more variety in film.
Yet, Kino is as much a social movement as it is a film movement. Hannaleena Hauru of Kino Euphoria in Helsinki says she has been Enjoying cinema as a community experience. Film makes you meet people you wouldn't normally meet. There are Kino cells in England, France, Germany, Morocco, Israel, Australia, Burkina Faso and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Each country has its own film style, notes Filmonik's Jenny Longworth.
The highlight of the Kino calendar is the Kabaret. During seasonal Kabarets, participants live, eat, and work together. These temporary communes last at least 48 hours. In that short amount of time, Kinoites form creative teams and make films. Let me repeat that: 48 hours. Start to finish. The result is undoubtedly the most harried, exuberant, mind-blowing experience. You don't have time to get emotionally attached, says J r me Charreton of Kino LugdunUM in Lyon. Steve Balshaw of Filmonik likens it to a jam session.
There's more to lose, but there's also nothing to lose.
Do Better with Little
In 2008, Lukas Scheper says they experimented with elongating the allotted time to 60 hours. There was less energy, he groans. The films were less risky, less interesting more complicated. That's where the do better with little comes in.
In order to complete the film on schedule, it is impossible to work on several ideas at a time. Once the team has committed to a concept, they have no choice but to follow through. There's more to lose, but there's also nothing to lose. One of the key markers of the Kino Kabarets is that there are no prizes. No best use of editing equipment , no most likely to succeed , and definitely no best director/writer/actor/costume designer/caterer/dog walker .
Having made a film is your only prize for participating in a Kino Kabaret.
There are no genre or character constraints, either. This is where it differs from the popular 48-hour film challenge. Karim Aitgacem of KinoPaname in Paris says that at Kino you have The right to experiment, to err, to mess up completely, and to have only a bruised ego as a consequence . Having made a film is your only prize for participating in a Kino Kabaret. And if the film isn't what you wanted or imagined it to be? Do better next time, but next time is tomorrow, not six months later, Scheper shrugs.
In Sydney, the time is even shorter. Realizing that many Australians didn't have the time for 48-hour sessions, Kino Sydney has reduced the time to 32 hours. Hilton says they have also started mini Kabarets , with 1 session instead of the traditional 2 or 3. During their Kabaret season, Kino Sydney typically plans 1 mini Kabaret a weekend over a three-week period. This allows more people to participate; Hilton adds that they're considering having mini Kabarets on random weekends, rather than three consecutive ones.
This cross-cultural affair attracts amateurs and professionals alike; everyone has something to contribute. One man at HamburgerKino's 2012 Kabaret, Dave Kavanagh, was a schoolteacher in Manchester by trade, but came to Hamburg to contribute soundtracks for the Kino films. Kino isn't as glamorous as Hollywood. I believe that independent films must be made urgently; they are the last auteur films...Film for film's sake, muses Jeudy. Mainstream cinema needs a shake up! remarks Hilton.
"Go out there and find new stories; we've tired of the old ones."
Do It Now!
By now, you may have noticed that the Kino cells in the United States are few and far between. Every cell I talked to had a different theory as to why, but they all agreed on one thing.
We're missin
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
30/08/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its FY 2025 Regulatory Fees Order that establishes the regulatory fee rates for the broadcast stati...
29/08/2025
Australian Red Cross and SBS launch training to help workplaces in the fight aga...
29/08/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
29/08/2025
L3Harris Technologies has concentrated decades of expertise across the entire enterprise to develop affordable and reliable best-of-breed solutions to rapidly c...
29/08/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The CW Network and the Pac-12 Conference have announced a new media rights deal that will extend their broadcast partnership beginning with the ...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK Gracenote has released a new analysis of its global video dataset showing that the number of FAST channels grew nearly 14% from Q1 2025 and 76% since 2...
29/08/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced a series of improvements to its live sports streaming solution that the company said will improve fan engagement, protec...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES Fox Corp. and YouTube TV last night announced a renewal of the full portfolio of Fox networks, including Fox News Channel, Fox Business...
29/08/2025
Budapest, Hungary, August 2025 - The integration of Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) with Lightware's Taurus universal matrix switchers delivers a new level of f...
29/08/2025
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's best-known streaming television channels, today announced it will launch Studio Live, a next-generation uni...
29/08/2025
In an era when AI and cyber resilience are essential, Scality will mark the 10th anniversary of Scality Day on October 16, 2025 in Paris. This flagship global e...
29/08/2025
Disguise's In-House Creative and Technical Teams Pre-Visualised, Programmed and Delivered Content for the Experience, All Powered by EX 3+
Technology solu...
29/08/2025
Disguise will be demonstrating the latest workflows for TV, film and live events on a number of partner booths at the show
Disguise, the industry-leading tech...
29/08/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Accedo will showcase Accedo Compose, its AI agent-powered modular orchestration layer that assists streaming providers in transitioning client...
29/08/2025
LOS ANGELES Cineverse has announced that it is working with Xperi to bring four of its streaming channels to automobiles for the first time as part of the DTS A...
29/08/2025
DALLAS & ATLANTA Gray Media has announced an agreement with the sports streaming service Victory+ to simulcast 17 Dallas Stars NHL games in 15 television market...
29/08/2025
NEW YORK AND CULVER CITY Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon have announced new and extended distribution agreements that will expand the content available on their...
29/08/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will feature its Cine-Broadcast Module supporting live broadcast workflows during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Ams...
29/08/2025
29 Aug 2025
Kyivstar Rings Opening Bell at Nasdaq Marking Landmark Listing and ...
29/08/2025
More than half of all NFL games live on Sky for the first timeFriday 29 August 2025
Sky Sports has announced a new three-year deal with the NFL, extending its ...
29/08/2025
Back to All News
RIV4LRIES: The Trailer of the New Series With Samuele Carrino ...
29/08/2025
Get ready for an inspiring and emotional insight into the world of competitive Irish dancing with My Story: Tomi Champion of the World airing on RT 2 this monda...
29/08/2025
RT has today announced that David McCullagh is to be the new presenter of RT Radio 1's flagship Today programme, which airs every weekday at 10am, replaci...
28/08/2025
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
If you want to tell untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got ...
28/08/2025
Directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Sundance Institute-supported Amer...
28/08/2025
Corridos have been a cornerstone of M sica Mexicana for generations, telling stories rooted in everyday life. Now, a new chapter is taking shape: motivational c...
28/08/2025
Los corridos han sido un pilar de la M sica Mexicana durante generaciones, contando historias enraizadas en la vida cotidiana. Ahora, un nuevo cap tulo est tom...
28/08/2025
Earlier this month, we promised our Verano Forever party would bring the heat, a...
28/08/2025
L3Harris will provide the Polish F-16V fleet with the Viper Shield electronic warfare system as part of an upgrade program....
28/08/2025
Bilbao, August 26, 2025 - AgileTV, an international television and video technol...
28/08/2025
Ken Wilkinson is an Emmy Awards nominated New York audio engineer who specialises in production sound mixing for film, commercial, episodic and documentary work...
28/08/2025
NEW YORK FuboTV today announced that it will launch Fubo Sports, a skinny bundle that focuses on sports with a subscription price of $56 monthly....
28/08/2025
NEVADA City, Calif. At IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Telestream will debut its new Global Ingest strategy, introducing a next-generation ingest arc...
28/08/2025
Dr. Rhoda Bernard Releases Groundbreaking Debut Book on Accessible Arts Educatio...
28/08/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real-time visualization, has named Oliver Gappa as Sales Di...
28/08/2025
AI-based voice enhancement will be among a series of innovations making their IBC 2025 debut on the DHD stand B46 in Hall 8 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Cent...
28/08/2025
Telef nica Servicios Audiovisuales (TSA), the leading system integrator and service provider in the media sector in Spain, with the support of Appear, the globa...
28/08/2025
To fully immerse sailing fans in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, production company, Optical Media turned to LiveU's On-site Production solutio...
28/08/2025
Working with Calrec on its most recent overhaul, radio and television broadcaster, WNED has migrated to a fully IP infrastructure with multiple Type R consoles,...
28/08/2025
Cleeng, the Subscriber Retention Management (SRM ) inventor, has unveiled Cleeng Pro, the first-ever direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscription management platform t...
28/08/2025
Zixi, the industry leader in live broadcast-quality video over IP, today announced that French media distribution platform OKAST has selected Zixi to enable rel...
28/08/2025
Solution offers a streamlined, speaker-free architecture to optimize integration with premium external loudspeakers and advanced loudness metering
Nixer Pro Au...
28/08/2025
Cinegy, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Vision One Touch Film Production Services L.L...
28/08/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will debut its new Global Ingest strategy at IBC2025, introducing a next-generation ingest architect...
28/08/2025
Tier 1 operator selects Broadpeak to power high-performance, unified CDN solution across Norway, Sweden and Finland
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and moneti...
28/08/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that 24 Frames Digital, one of India's leading live event streaming service providers, has chose...
28/08/2025
Meet VisualOn at IBC2025: See What's Next in AI-Powered Video Streaming Join VisualOn at IBC2025 and discover how our AI-driven Optimizer and advanced media...
What if you only had 48 hours to make a film with strangers? Around the world, amateur and professional filmmakers are doing just that. Heres everything you need to know about the Kino movement. 
