Salmiak (ammonium chloride) is a rock salt. It is industrially produced for the food industry, a white sour-salty tasting fine granulate. A maximum of 7.99 percent salt is permitted in the recipe, this must be labelled as "Extra strong adult liquorice - not children's liquorice".The Yorck cinema group also invited us at kadó to the grand reopening of the newly renovated cinema on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin Mitte. Dressed to the nines, we arrived just in time for the standing reception and, at first glance, had the impression that nothing had changed here at all! Even up in the foyer, which, just as before the closure, exudes a warm atmosphere with its wood panelling, the chandeliers, the bar... was that really worth a year and a half of closure and renovation?
Together with all the other guests, we took our seats in the cinema and were warmly welcomed by the managing directors of the Yorck cinema group, Heinrich-Georg Kloster and Dr Christian Bräuer. In their lively speech, they spoke of the history of this pioneering cinema of GDR modernism since 1963 and the challenges involved in preserving and renovating this listed gem. Funding from various sources was pooled for this project to ensure everything looks just as it did in the past. Every wooden strip, including those from the foyer, was refurbished by hand and reinstalled. In the auditorium, the technical equipment is concealed behind these wooden strips; naturally, this has also been completely refurbished so that it can now even rival the Cannes Film Festival. All 20 panels of the curtain were taken down, cleaned and completely repaired or re-woven by a company specialising in textiles from Thuringia. All the cinema seats have been reupholstered, the roof sealed...
All in all, the various trades, working closely with the heritage conservation team, have done a wonderful job of refurbishing the old cinema. To round things off, there was a brief demonstration of the sound system, and then the cheering began. A thoroughly enjoyable evening – bring on the next Berlinale!























































































































