Deutsches Filminstitut


The Deutsches Filminstitut – DIF is an institute for the study of film, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

History

The Deutsches Filminstitut was founded on 13 April 1949 as the Deutsches Institut für Filmkunde. In 1952, the Deutsches Filmarchiv was set up as an autonomous department of the DIF, from which it separated again after a reorganisation in 1956.
On 1 January 1959, Lavies left the DIF and was succeeded as director by Max Lippmann. Theo Fürstenau headed the institute between 1966 and 1981. In 1981, Gerd Albrecht was appointed director of the DIF. On February 1, 1997, Claudia Dillmann became head of the institution, which has been officially known as the “Deutsches Filminstitut – DIF” since October 30, 1999. In January 2006, the organisation merged with the , also based in Frankfurt am Main. Claudia Dillmann took early retirement in mid-September 2017. In September 2017, the DIF's administrative board appointed Ellen Harrington as her successor, who held office from January 1, 2018, to July 2024. She changed the name of the institution to DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V. In July 2024, Tobias Römer and Christine Kopf took over the management of the institution, whose board they also form. Dr. Simone Emmelius joined this committee as the third board member in July 2025.

Functions

The DFF has one of the largest film archives in Germany and one of the most comprehensive collections of material on all aspects of cinematography and cinema.
Current projects include:
The DIF is a founding member of the Deutscher Kinemathekenverbund.