In front of you is a long, white wooden building with lots of big windows and a bold sign on the roof reading “KINO xenix”-just look for the quirky structure nestled in the trees, with colorful benches and posters in glass cases outside.
Welcome to one of Zurich’s most legendary little rebels: the Xenix cinema! Just imagine the crackle of gravel under your feet as you stand on the bustling square-the air alive with laughter and conversation from the nearby bar’s terrace, and a quiet hint of anticipation from the cinema’s doors, like they’re holding secrets behind them.
Now, Xenix didn’t just show up quietly one morning like a polite neighbor! No, its story starts way back in the early 1980s, a time when Zurich’s youth were bubbling with energy, ideas…and, well, a tiny bit of mischief. Picture the scene: street protests, demands for more freedom, and amidst it all, a group of film-obsessed young people decided cinema could be a weapon for challenging ideas and connecting people. They started a film club with just a rickety 16mm projector-maybe about as powerful as a flashlight in a rainstorm, but with enough passion to light up a city!
Their first film wasn’t even shown here-it was a journey, hopping from one borrowed hall to another, sometimes in smoky theater basements or at the legendary Volkshaus. In 1982, the club finally found a home in an occupied house by Tessinerplatz, and they gave their project a name with a sense of irony and a nod to Amsterdam’s famous “Xinix” cinema: Xenix, which in Swiss German cheekily means, “I see nothing.” Good name for a cinema, right? The joke being, half the time, it was hard to know where or if the next show was happening at all!
Eventually, when another temporary home was demolished-classic Xenix luck-they landed, by both fortune and sheer stubbornness, here on Kanzleiareal. Set up in a former schoolhouse barrack from 1904, Xenix never looked back. Today, that same old wooden building, a little stretched and expanded, is still home to all sorts of cinematic adventure. And those cozy sofas inside? You might spot a row of them-they’re left over from the very first days, when the audience lounged around like cats, almost as keen on conversation as on the films.
The spirit inside is anything but sleepy! Xenix is fiercely dedicated to offering a platform for films that dig deep-sometimes shining a spotlight on forgotten voices, sometimes diving into loaded political themes or celebrating outlandish artistic visions. Every month, the program turns on a dime: sometimes it highlights a social cause, sometimes a country’s hidden cinematic gems. There are retrospectives that feel like time travel, and regular Sunday brunch documentaries that fuel your body and your mind. It’s a place where directors and audiences argue, laugh, and learn together. Sometimes, it feels more like a living, breathing brain than a cinema.
When summer hits, the cinema spills outside, turning this very gravel yard into an open-air movie theater under the stars. The bar out front becomes a local hangout, with people pausing for a drink before the show-or just catching the sunset, even if they aren’t planning to see a film. During the football World Cup? Xenix becomes a raucous fan-zone, with matches beamed onto a big screen, hosts flipping BBQ, and the crowd roaring loud enough to wake the pigeons.
There’s been a generous dash of courage among all these stories-the legendary Xenia women’s nights that kept Thursdays strictly for women, and the times when Xenix lent a helping hand, whether setting up open-air movie nights in distant Senegal or helping rebuild a bombed-out cinema in Sarajevo. And the technology? Oh, it’s a museum and a spaceship all at once: original 16mm and Super-8 projectors snuggle up beside digital projectors with surround sound, ready for anything from retro classics to modern masterpieces.
So as you’re standing here, maybe feeling a mix of curiosity and nostalgia, take a deep breath and imagine the thousands of movie lovers who, since 1984, have crossed this same gravel, eager to see a film, challenge ideas, or just find a space for something offbeat. Xenix may look modest, but it’s a treasure chest of stories, ideas, and maybe a few film reels that squeak in the night.
Now, if you see someone racing past you with a poster under their arm and a coffee in hand, don’t worry-they might just be rushing to set up tonight’s next great cinematic surprise!
