This study traces the evolution of early film societies in Germany and
Austria, from the emergence of mass movie theaters in the 1910s to the
turbulent years of the late Weimar Republic. Examining a diverse array
of groups, it approaches film societies as formations designed to
assimilate and influence a new medium: a project emerging from the world
of amateur science before taking new directions into industry, art and
politics. Through an interdisciplinary approach--in dialogue with social
history, print history and media archaeology--it also transforms our
theoretical understanding of what a film society was and how it
operated. Far from representing a mere collection of pre-formed
cinephiles, film societies were, according to the book's central
argument, productive social formations, which taught people how to
nurture their passion for the movies, how to engage with cinema, and how
to interact with each other. Ultimately, the study argues that examining
film societies can help to reveal the diffuse agency by which generative
ideas of cinema take shape.